NEW DELHI, August 31. /TASS/. More than 900 people have been killed in flooding that struck northern Nepal last week, the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said.

"Bodies of 903 people have been found," the authority said in a report. A total of 10,461 people have been rescued. Nearly 4,200 people, including 592 foreign nationals, remain missing. At least 933 workers at hydropower facilities may be trapped in tunnels.

Dharmaraj Upreti, the authority’s chief executive, told The Kathmandu Post that blocked roads are hampering relief deliveries and rescue operations in the disaster zone.

"Helicopters are our only option, but they come with limitations," he said, adding that "the possibility of fresh flooding causing further obstructions creates uncertainty during rescue operations."

"The most difficult task right now is recovering the bodies," Upreti said. "Given the hot weather, if bodies are not retrieved in time, decomposition poses severe epidemic risks," he added.

The natural disaster struck northern Nepal on the morning of August 26. Preliminary reports indicate that the flooding was caused by an avalanche near the border with China, about 20 km northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border crossing. A powerful flow of rock traveled more than 70 km along the riverbed at great speed, destroying nearby settlements and flooding a large area.

The Russian Embassy in Nepal said it had lost contact with nine Russian citizens who may have been in the disaster zone.