DRAMATIC footage/ Massive landslide takes hundreds of people away

Floods in Nepal and a landslide in Tibet have caused widespread destruction, with hundreds missing as the waters "swallowed" settlements, leaving behind rubble. As the hours pass, the number of dead, injured and missing is rising. 

At least 157 people have died and the toll is expected to rise as water levels recede. The number of missing tourists now stands at 579, according to the latest figures confirmed by Nepal police. Of the missing tourists, 466 are foreigners from 28 different countries. 

113 of the missing tourists are Nepalese, 54 from the US and 33 from Britain. 

Nepal's foreign minister said initial assessments indicated that the cause of the flooding was an earthquake that triggered a landslide that blocked the Bhote Koshi River. However, the U.S. Geological Survey reported that a tremor was detected in the area that was not an earthquake, but was caused by a landslide. The tremor was registered as equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake.

The landslide likely took the form of "an avalanche of ice and rocks from a glacier on the Nepal side, which blocked the river and caused a flash flood," an expert from the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu told CNN.

"Most people think of flash floods as being caused by heavy rainfall, but in Nepal and Tibet, as in many other high-altitude areas, they can be caused by complex chains of events," Liz Stevens, a professor at the University of Reading, told the BBC.

It will take weeks to determine the exact cause of the flood, but an international team of scientists believes that a large part of the glacier broke off and fell into the valley. ©LAPSI.al