Rescue operations halted as lake near Nepal border starts to overflow

Relatives and friends of the 39 Australians reported missing after a deluge of ice and rock destroyed parts of Nepal and China are desperately searching for news of their loved ones and hoping they are alive.

At least 14 of those missing are believed to have travelled to Nepal from Sydney – including boys aged 11 and 14 on a pilgrimage with their family – while a son in Melbourne is anxiously awaiting any news of his father.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed on Friday morning that at least 39 Australians were understood to be among those reported missing – up from 35 overnight.

“The extraordinary scale of this disaster and the remoteness of the affected region mean immense challenges lie ahead for the response and recovery,” she said in a joint statement with Minister for International Development Anne Aly.

The flash flood , powerful enough to tear large buildings away from their foundations and rip up bridges, has killed at least 389 people, although that number could rise into the thousands in coming days.

More than 1300 people are reported missing, including more than 650 foreign nationals from over 30 countries, including India, the United States, Britain and Canada.

Nepal’s Home Minister, Sudhan Gurung, said the focus remained on finding survivors as rescue teams located 100 missing Indian visitors – mostly pilgrims to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus – and 25 Chinese workers in the worst-hit region around Trishuli. Twenty-seven tourists, including two Americans, two Italians, four South Koreans and 11 Indians, were also rescued from the Timure and Bhote Koshi area of Rasuwa, the Nepal Tourism Board said on Thursday night.

While 15 of the missing Australians were travelling with the Himalayan Glacier Adventure and Travel Kailash Group, six others were travelling with the Kailash Journeys tour group, and 11 were on a pilgrimage with non-profit spiritual organisation the Isha Foundation. The whereabouts of one traveller with Kathmandu Holiday Tours and Travel, and two other Australian travellers remain unknown.

A family from Cherrybrook in Sydney’s northern suburbs is among the 35 Australians missing in Nepal.

In a Facebook post, Nisha Khadka said family friends Sridharan Iyer and Lakshmi Iyer, as well as Rudhra and Rishab Iyer were missing in Nepal.

She said they were last known to be in Kathmandu before the natural disaster and friends were urgently trying to locate them.

“If anyone has seen them, has any information about their whereabouts, or has found them safe, please contact me as soon as possible,” she said.

Rishab is a medicine student at the University of Newcastle, while his brother Rudhra is a student at Western Sydney University.

Another pair of brothers, Aarush and Ashwin Muralitharan, and their parents were travelling with Himalayan Glacier and are currently missing. At 11 and 14, the boys are among the youngest Australians affected by the flood.