The number of people missing in the catastrophic flood that sliced through the border area between Nepal and Tibet exceeded 3,000 on Sunday, as rescuers scoured deep, leg-sucking mud for survivors.

Here are the latest developments after the tsunami-like disaster that struck the Himalayan region on Wednesday:

Tolls climb

Figures from Nepal and from Chinese authorities in charge of Tibet put the total number of missing just over 3,000, with 750 bodies recovered .

Nepal says there are 2,498 people, including hundreds of foreigners, who are out of contact in the country. It reported an updated death toll of 734 people on Sunday.

Tibet, an autonomous region of China, was largely inaccessible to foreign journalists, preventing independent reporting on the scale of the disaster in an area which has multiple villages.

China's state broadcaster CCTV said on Sunday that 546 people were missing and 16 people had been killed.

Of those missing, 261 were foreign nationals, it said.

100 trapped in tunnels

More than 100 workers are believed to be trapped inside multiple hydropower tunnels.

The Nepali army inserted a pipe into one of the tunnels at the Trishuli 3A hydroelectric site late on Saturday and started sending air through it, Minister Sudan Gurung said.

But overnight rain and rising river waters hampered rescue efforts at that site and Nepal's disaster authorities urged rescue teams on Sunday to exercise caution.

Those trapped were among 933 missing workers from hydropower projects on the rivers where the torrent of icy debris swept down.

India, which has extensive experience in such rescues, has sent an 11-person specialised team. China has also sent a nine-person tunnel team to help.

Reconstruction could cost 'billions'

Nepal's reconstruction bill could run into "billions of dollars", Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said.

"We will do loss and damage research and then we plan, but I am reaching out to our international community for support."

Relatives crowd rescue hub

At an army base in the Nepali town of Bidur, a key rescue hub, relatives crowded around lists of rescued people pasted on a wall.

"I have come here looking for my son," said Kalka Sharda, scanning the list in desperation. "He was a labourer at the hydropower plant, but I can't find his name, and the authorities are not saying anything."

Climate change 

While the exact cause of the collapse is unclear, Nepal's foreign minister warned on Saturday of the growing threat from climate change in the Himalayas.

The US Geological Survey said the disaster on Wednesday near the high-altitude China-Nepal border was caused by a glacial collapse that sent a torrent of debris downstream.

China's state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday that experts had said "a glacier on the southern slope of Lirung Peak in Nepal" fractured, triggering an ice-rock avalanche.

It said the torrent plummeted rapidly, forming a massive debris flow that travelled more than 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) before crashing into Gyirong Port.

"The sudden glacial collapse and flash flood is a devastating reminder of how fragile these mountain environments can be", UN climate chief Simon Steill said in a statement.

Aid offers

As many as 93,000 people in Nepal are potentially affected by the disaster, according to the Red Cross.

Nepal appealed on Saturday for international financial assistance, as well as specialised rescue support, including heavy lift drones, DNA testing kits, and body freezer storage units.

The United States and Canada said they would each provide around $3.6 million in humanitarian assistance.

The UK has offered $6.8 million in aid while the UN released $2.5 million in emergency funding.

The European Union on Friday promised $2.3 million and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) allocated more than $1 million and launched an emergency appeal for $31 million.

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Beijing's help on Friday.



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