In brief
- Search and rescue operations have resumed in Nepal and Tibet, with nearly 3,000 remaining missing.
- A Sydney woman was found safely on Saturday.
Nepali authorities resumed search and rescue work after a brief weather-related suspension, looking for nearly 3,000 missing people following a devastating flood that killed hundreds and tore through a region bordering Tibet.
It comes as an unaccounted-for Sydney woman, Cara Severino, 26, made contact with her parents on Saturday before she was safely located by Australian consular officials.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it was "a rare piece of positive news amid a disaster that has brought immense loss and uncertainty".
In a statement, Severino said she felt "blessed" to be Australian.
"I feel for the families of those still missing — I know how much my family and friends went through," she said.
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"Blessed to be from Australia and have the embassy and Australian government giving so much support."
Forty-one Australians remain unaccounted for after a glacier collapse triggered a torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through mountain river systems on Wednesday, killing at least 669 people in Nepal and seven in China's Tibet.
Nearly 3,000 people remain missing, including about 2,426 in Nepal and 554 in Tibet's Gyirong County, among them at least 540 foreign nationals, many of them Hindu pilgrims from India.
Nepal has called for specialised foreign assistance, and its finance minister said it would need up to US$5 billion ($7 billion) to rebuild.
Australia has announced a $5 million assistance package.
Unrecognisable bodies to be buried
Search and rescue operations resumed on Sunday afternoon after being temporarily halted because of rain and fog, a police officer in hard-hit Rasuwa district said.
"Helicopters are flying and the operation resumed following some improvement in weather," he said, on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
On Friday, authorities also suspended rescue work when a lake, formed across the Nepal-China border after the flood, began overflowing into Nepal's Lhende Khola and Trishuli rivers.
By Saturday, the risk had eased and parts of the lake bed were visible, Chinese authorities and state broadcaster CCTV said. Satellite images suggested water was slowly draining from the lake, gradually reducing its size, CCTV reported.
The lake is one of two upstream of the flood zone that Nepal is monitoring. Flood risks will persist until both have fully drained, an official warned.
Three days after the disaster, authorities said some bodies being recovered had decomposed beyond recognition. They would be buried after legal formalities because of health risks and a fear of disease outbreaks.
"DNA samples will be collected, and the bodies will be buried in an open space," the Chitwan district administration said in a notice.
Anxious wait for Australian families
Several family members and friends of the missing Australians have flown to Nepal to search for answers, while others are waiting helplessly in Australia for any word.
Jen Nai has been sharing photographs of her brother-in-law Karan Bhardwaj far and wide since the tragedy unfolded on Wednesday, praying for a miracle.
The Australian Defence Force member lost all contact with his family while travelling with friends Arpan Mithalal Kothari and Bhavin Raval.
The mates were near the Nepal-Tibet border with Kailash Journeys as part of a tour group when the flooding hit.
"Our family is desperately waiting for news," Nai told Australian Associated Press.
NSW mother-of-two Reshma Patel was also making a pilgrimage with the Isha Foundation when the floods hit.
Her last known location was an immigration office along the border, captured in viral footage.
"She was inside the big building, which you can see in all the videos that had been hit hard by the floods," family friend Chin Valsan told AAP.
Also on the tour was outdoor education leader Michael Keats, who has also been identified as missing, along with mother and wife Sumi Adhikari.
Nava Pandey has steadfastly sought information about Adhikari's whereabouts since flying to Nepal in the wake of the disaster.
Speaking with AAP on Saturday, he still had no clear or official information about his wife or the other members of her group.
"Based on the CCTV footage that has emerged and their last known location in the Gyirong area, our most urgent request is for an immediate and thorough search operation in that location," Pandey said.
"Families should not be left without answers during such a critical time. Every hour matters."
Among the missing are 15 Australians who were on a trek with US travel company Himalayan Glacier Adventures.
Two Australian boys, aged 11 and 14, are also part of the tour group.
Sydney doctor Manoj Dharmaratnam was invited to join the pilgrimage but chose not to.
He prescribed several of his close friends altitude medication and conducted injury assessments before they left Australia.
Included in the Himalayan Glacier group was a Sydney couple with two sons in their 20s and both studying medicine.
"They're such pioneers in the community of ours. They're very well known and well respected, so it's such a shame," Dharmaratnam said.
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