Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Six days on from the deadly flash floods, rescuers are still searching for 639 workers who are thought to be trapped in a vast network of mud-filled tunnels along Nepal's Trishuli River.

The official death toll from the flood disaster on the Nepal-Tibet border now stands at 939, according to Nepal's disaster authority.

Nepal’s army rescued 109 people on Monday - but 3,925 people are still unaccounted for, including 592 foreign nationals, according to the government.

Nepali Prime Minister Baldendra Shah said the disaster highlighted "the escalating risks we face in the Himalayan region due to climate change", and the issue should be "forcefully" raised with the international community.

Some 279 workers have so far been rescued from hydropower plants since the disaster began, Shah said.

"To be honest since Saturday we have lost hope," said one family in Wales who are waiting for news of a missing hydropower worker.

We are pausing our live coverage, but you can read more in our news story.

We can now bring you more from Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah.

He describes last week's floods as "no ordinary flood", and a "major disaster for the region, triggered by an avalanche of ice and rock in the Himalayas".

"This event signals the escalating risks we face in the Himalayan region due to climate change," Shah says in an update online.

He adds that "the time has come" for Nepal to "forcefully raise the issue of climate-induced disasters with the international community".

Global warming has accelerated melting of Himalayas' glaciers, but how much a role climate change played in this devastating flood might be known if there are focused studies in the days to come, writes our environment correspondent.

As night falls in Nepal, and search operations continue, thousands remain missing after the deadly floods.

Many wait to hear news of their loved ones, as vigils are held for the victims.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The impact of Wednesday's flash floods will last much longer than "just a couple of weeks or months", says the acting Nepal director of a global humanitarian charity.

Srijana Gurung, of Plan International, says what she witnessed in the Nuwakot district yesterday sends shivers through her body.

She describes hearing the "constant sound of helicopters" overhead, and witnessing the "strong smell of debris".

Srijana says she saw families waiting to hear from their loves ones outside of the rescue area, while others "were trying to recover whatever remains they could from the houses".

"What we've realised now is that the impact of this massive flood is now just for a couple of weeks or months, the impact is going to be longer," she says.

Srijana says Plan International has staff deployed in all of the flood-hit areas to provide life-saving support, and it is now looking into longer-term measures such as temporary learning centres and mental health support.

Image source, Dr. S. Jaishankar

Soldiers and military personnel, police officers, and search and rescue teams have been deployed to look for those missing and supported injured and affected people.

Here's how the international community has responded:

• The UK said it is providing £5 million to support emergency relief efforts on Thursday
• On Friday, Canada announced $5 million (£3.69 million) in assistance to deliver food, shelter, water, sanitation and health services
• On Saturday, the US said it would provide over $3.6 million (£2.66 million) worth of humanitarian assistance
• India's external affairs minister said its fourth flight of aid for Nepal landed in Kathmandu yesterday, which includes a team of forensics experts for DNA analysis and a "Tunnel technical contingent" for search and rescue operations

• On Monday, Nepal's prime minister saidthey have had assistance so far from India, China, the United States, the UAE, Qatar, Japan, Switzerland, and Australia
• Search and rescue teams are also supported by teams from China and South Korea

Image source, Reuters

The ferocity of Wednesday's flash floods has erased almost every record of power stations in many locations in northern Nepal, according to engineer Professor Arnold Dix.

Dix, who is advising on the rescue efforts from Melbourne, says locating these power stations, where hundreds of workers are said to be trapped in tunnels, was one of the first challenges rescuers faced.

Speaking to Radio 4's World at One, he says he has been using satellite data to compare with ground photos and information from helicopters to try and find the tunnels.

"The actual signature of them has gone - everything is just missing. It looks like a lunar landscape," says Dix, the former head of the International Tunnelling Association.

Once rescuers know where the power stations are, Dix says they can then decide what's the "best and most likely way they can access the underground facility", which typically involves digging and "blasting boulders".

"There's boulders bigger than houses, I've never seen that before in my life. It's just an extraordinary operation," he adds.

"We've got some hope" for those trapped underground Dix says, adding that the theory is that although on the surface the floods were furious, "underneath it was protected from that".

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The Nepali Army has so far rescued 279 people from various hydropower projects affected by last week's flash floods, according to Prime Minister Balendra Shah.

Shah has shared the following update on the search and rescue operation so far:

• So far, 254 people have been rescued from the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project, where a search is currently under way within the tunnel
• At the Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Project, he says the Nepali Army has rescued two individuals - no one was found inside the project's tunnel following a search from Chinese and Nepali military personnel
• Since this morning, teams have been working to open the tunnel entrances at the Langtang Khola and Chilime hydropower projects in Rasuwa
• Nine people have been rescued from the Mailung Khola Hydropower Project

• A search is also under way in the tunnel of Upper Trishuli-3A in Nuwakot, while two people have previously been rescued from the Upper Trishuli-3B Hydropower Project area
• Three people have been rescued from the Trishuli Hydropower Project in Nuwakot
• Four individuals have also been rescued from the Solar Project and another four from the Devighat Hydropower Project

An earlier update from the Nepali Army stated one body had been found in the Langtand Hydro tunnel.

As the search for survivors from last week's flash floods continues, the clean up operation has also begun.

In the Dhading district, one of the worst-hit areas, locals have come together to help clean up a hospital and a school following the floods which left mud and sludge in their wake.

Meanwhile, Maithali Barrack, an army training centre in Nuwakot district, remains a key base for emergency operations.

Here are some of today's pictures showing the latest on the ground.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

We can bring your more now from the Nepali Army, after they gave an update on rescue operations.

The army says it rescued a total of 109 people, including one German, using aerial assets on Monday.

It has deployed 8,900 personnel across areas affected by Wednesday's flash floods as the search and rescue operation continues.

The army says these members, who have been deployed from Timure in Rasuwa to Nawalparasi East, will work in a coordinated manner to search for the injured, clear obstructed roads and provide emergency medical treatment.

The army adds that 165 people have received medical services today from the emergency treatment centres at Trishuli and Dhunche.

The Nepali Army says has given an update on its work to rescue hundreds of workers trapped in tunnels across hydropower sites:

• At the Langtand Hydro tunnel, a team recovered one body and has reached 65m (213ft) into the tunnel
• The tunnel head of hydropower site Trishuli-3A has been located and air is being supplied via a compressor, with operations to drain water under way
• An alternative route at the rear of the tunnel has been cleared for around 15m (40ft)

• Operations at Upper Trushuli-1 have seen rescuers conduct searches up to 300m (984ft) into the tunnel at Hakku and 200m (656ft) at Mailung
• Rescue operations continue at Trishuli-3B with experts deployed and excavators being used
• A joint search and rescue team has reached 35m (114ft) inside the Chilime Hydro Tunnel and is working to clear the way forward
• At the Rasuwagadhi Hydro tunnel, the team reached 250m (820ft) and located a blocked section

As we just reported, the country's disaster management authority says 639 powerplant workers are missing.

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Rosnee Bhattarai

Nepali volunteer Rosnee Bhattarai has travelled to the flood-hit villages in Nuwakot district, devastated by Wednesday's disaster. She found 200 people sleeping on the floor of a school, and among them were many children whose parents are missing.

“These children don’t talk, they are very silent, they are not playing or running around, they are still in the trauma," Bhattarai tells me by phone.

"There are babies without nappies and women without sanitary products. Diarrhoea is an issue," she says.

Bhattarai - who works as a climate activist in Kathmandu - drove to the flood-hit area on Saturday with a car full of supplies.

“I saw two dead bodies on the road. I was not prepared for it,” she says, adding that it took several hours to reach the flood-hit district.

Bhattarai says she walked in one of the roads and her leg got stuck in the mud. “The road is covered with sand and mud if you step on it your feet go deeper and deeper," so her team drove over farmland instead.

The death toll in Nepal has reached 939, the country's disaster management authority has just reported.

The agency has also revised its estimate of the number of missing to 3,925, earlier that figure was given as 4,247.

Of those missing, it says 592 are foreign nationals.

The latest update also estimates that the number of hydropower workers who are believed to be trapped at hydropower plants is now 639. The agency had previously put that figure at 933.

A total of 11,379 people have been rescued, it adds.

Last Wednesday morning, a huge surge of mud and water swept down from the Nepal-Tibet border, leaving destruction in its path.

As a reminder, here's how the fatal disaster unfolded:

• Wednesday 08:37 local time in Nepal (02:52 GMT): A magnitude 5.2 seismic event occurs near the Nepal-Tibet border. This was initially thought to be an earthquake, but the US Geological Survey (USGS) has since said it was a glacial collapse
• The USGS says the flow of debris from the collapse led to "subsequent catastrophic impacts downstream"
• Moments later: A wall of water and other material crashes downstream, taking buildings, roads and vehicles in its wake

• By 17:00: Nepalese police tells the BBC that at least 17 people have been killed
• 22:45: The Nepalese prime minister's office says search and rescue operations will continue throughout the night, with civilian and military personnel mobilised

As the rescue operation reaches day six, the number of dead has soared to 903, with a further 4,247 people missing, authorities say.

Intensive rescue efforts are now centred on 933 missing hydropower workers, with many believed to be inside the Upper Trishuli 1, Trishuli 3A, and Trishuli 3B sites - with fears that a critical window may be closing to rescue any underground survivors.

As we've reported, it's believed that around 933 people are trapped in tunnels in various power projects following the floods.

Rescuers are on scene, attempting to find and safely bring back people within the tunnels, including in the projects of Upper Trishuli 1, Trishuli 3A, and Trishuli 3B.

The site is a major electricity generator for the country, with some interconnected tunnels. Trishuli 3B uses water that comes from 3A. Upper Trishuli 1 is highest in the river - work on its construction was ongoing as the floods hit.

On Sunday, rescuers managed to create a hole wide enough to enter 3A and begin the search for survivors. But the office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah said that the team working into the tunnel called out but did not receive a response from anyone inside.

Sara Down-Roberts
BBC Wales

Image source, Chaudhary Family

One woman in Wales is waiting to hear news of a missing man she considers family, who was working in a hydropower station in Nepal when the floods hit.

Jyoti Upadhyay, who is from Nepal but has lived in Tal-y-bont in Ceredigion for the past five years, says she and her husband have not been able to find out anything about the whereabouts of worker Jit Bahadur Chaudhary.

Chaudhary, who is not a blood relation but is considered family by Upadhyay as he has lived with her mother-in-law for the past 25 years, was working at the Trishuli-3B site, one of several sites that have workers trapped inside them.

Nepali authorities are blasting into hillsides to try and reach those trapped, with a controlled blast carried out at the Trishuli site in an attempt to open up access in the early hours of Monday.

"To be honest since Saturday we have lost hope," Upadhyay tells BBC Radio Cymru's Bwrw Golwg programme.

"It has been extremely difficult to reach the site. What we understand is that all the buildings are under meters of mud and it has been impossible to search for anyone there."

As authorities scramble to retrieve survivors and bodies from the devastating flash floods, funerals are being held across Nepal for those already recovered.

Many victims have not been identified, but a small number have been handed back to their families.

Here are pictures from today's funeral in Chitwan for Ayush Khadka, a 21-year-old who lost his life in the deadly disaster.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Tara Mewawalla
Live reporter

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The number of people missing in Nepal rose sharply today - the sixth day of rescue operations - to 4,247, according to the country's disaster agency. At least 903 people have died.

Nepali authorities are now trying to blast into hillsides, as efforts intensify to try and find 933 missing hydropower workers, thought to be trapped in tunnels connected to 13 hydropower projects across the country.

The BBC spoke to Priya Kharel, who is struggling to find any information on her brother's whereabouts, but hopes he is trapped in one of the tunnels

Further rain is forecast, with amber warnings in place over the next few days in the north of the country. Heavy rain has been making rescue operations difficult.

On the Tibetan side of the border, emergency teams are still searching for people, while 10 have been punished by Chinese authorities accused of spreading misinformation online about the floods.

China has rejected accusations that it is censoring footage of the impact of the landslide in Tibet, saying it is releasing information "openly, transparently and in a timely manner".

Nepal has also ordered the removal of online flood content - get BBC Verify's analysis here.

Military hubs have been transformed into search, rescue and relief zones, with military personnel offering support.

The intensity of the relief operations nearly a week on underlines the scale of the challenge facing communities, our BBC Nepali reporters note.

We'll continue to bring you the latest coverage as rescue efforts continue.

Laura Bicker
China correspondent

Chinese authorities have punished 10 people who are accused of spreading misinformation online.

The rumours suggested the number of missing or dead was vastly more than officially reported figures, according to a statement by the cybersecurity bureau of China’s Ministry of Public Security.

They cited the case of one individual, surnamed Qiu, had shared online that “the news reports 1,400 fatalities, but in reality 3,000 people had previously been reported missing”, while another surnamed Liu had said more than 3,000 people died in China as a result of the mudslide, the statement added.

The report did not specify what punishment each person received.

China has been censoring footage from the floods, fearing instability in the region, but on Monday said it is releasing information "openly, transparently and in a timely manner".

Darren Bett
Lead weather presenter

Image source, Planet Labs PBC

In the last 24 hours the wettest weather in Nepal has been at Melamchi-Ghyang, a village northeast of Kathmandu and not far from where the floods were, where 89mm has fallen.

Over the next few days there are amber rain warnings for north-eastern parts of the country.

Computer models are showing up to 60mm of rain in this area by the end of Tuesday.

Because of the terrain, rainfall amounts can vary dramatically.

The heavy rain at this time of year is due to the southwest monsoon that pushes onto the Himalayas from India.

The rains normally continue through the whole of September and only withdraw during the first week of October.

Navin Singh Khadka
Global environment correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Nepal has begun installation of CCTV cameras and a seismometer in the Rasuwa district to monitor and issue early warning in case of fresh floods, say officials with the country's department of hydrology and meteorology.

They say six flood sensors in the affected region were swept away during the devastating debris floods last Wednesday.

The sensors helped officials know changes in the flow of the rivers in the region, and issue flood alerts through phone SMS.

With no equipment left now, and installing new sensors taking time, there is a dangerous gap in obtaining timely flood information, the officials say.

They add that the two CCTV cameras being installed will help them see in real time if any flood is coming down from the mountains upstream.

The seismometer they are installing will also help them know if there has been a major landslide or ice-rock avalanche, like the one on 26 August, as such events cause the ground to shake.

Chinese media have been reporting on new potential hazards in and around the glacial-collapse site that caused the floods.