Sky News has brought viewers breaking coverage of the catastrophic flooding in Nepal, with reporter Neville Lazarus describing heartbreaking scenes from the ground. More than 560 people have died in the disaster, and nearly 2,500 are missing across Nepal and Tibet, including 33 British nationals.
Reporter describes loss and devastation
Speaking from a safe spot near the scene, Lazarus told viewers about a man who had lost 40 extended family members. He said: "It is still unfolding, the catastrophic events that have sort of engulfed this nation, which is one of the poorest in the world. And we are, you know, by the hour, there are really tragic stories coming out. I spoke to earlier to a man who had lost 40 of his family members, extended family members..."
He described the scale of destruction: "There were about 450 homes, establishments, and shops, all almost destroyed and devastated. The water, silt and debris almost to the first floor of these homes, which were on higher ground, away from the river banks, but the flow of the water had just inundated all of this, swallowed all of that up, and we've seen some horrific pitches coming out."
Ongoing threat and panic
Lazarus noted the continued danger of further flooding, saying: "There was again this big threat of another flooding taking place, and there is a lot of distress and anxiety amongst people. As soon as they hear someone shouting that the waters are flowing faster or there's a rise in the waters, everyone panics, and they run to higher ground."
He added: "This morning, workers had to stop their work, and also the excavators were moved out from this area because they had a warning from upstream that there would be flooding taking place, and people were evacuated by the administration. So a lot of panic is still around there. The sort of trauma of what has happened will haunt every family for a very, very long time."
Official response and royal sympathy
Nepali authorities described the scenes on Wednesday as "devastation beyond imagination" after a torrential wall of water, standing 650ft high, ripped through a valley in the Rasuwa region, north of the capital, Kathmandu.
King Charles said that he and the Queen were "heartbroken" and extended their "most profound sympathy" to all those affected. He said: "Many in the United Kingdom have strong, deep and personal ties to this part of the world. We send our most profound sympathy to all those who have so tragically lost their loved ones and we feel deeply for the many families awaiting anxiously the news of friends and relations."
