More than 600 people have been killed in catastrophic flash floods in Nepal, as searches for nearly 2,500 missing entered a fourth day.

As of this morning, Nepali and Chinese authorities confirmed the death toll had increased to 626, with 2,426 people still reported missing, including hundreds of foreigners who were in the area for work, leisure or pilgrimage.

Poor weather on Saturday hampered the rescue effort, with crews working around the clock having pulled some survivors from the mud.

More than 30 British nationals are among those unaccounted for following the natural disaster in the Rasuwa district, which borders China’s Tibet autonomous region.

They are thought to include two teenagers, a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy.

A team of specially trained crisis response staff from the UK are arriving in Nepal, alongside £5million in humanitarian support sent by the British government.

Some 3,700 people have been rescued so far on the Nepalese side following the glacier collapse.

However rescuers remain on high alert, amid warnings that a new lake formed at high altitude in the Himalayas may be on the verge of overflowing.

The lake has reduced in depth by 10 metres from when it peaked on Thursday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Helicopters are continuing to bring in essential aid, including clothes and food essentials such as rice, crackers and instant noodles.

Among the evacuated were several young babies, carried to safety in the arms of soldiers.

Most of those rescued were only carrying the clothes they were wearing and, in some cases, a small plastic bag.

In Nuwakot, one of the communities deeply affected by the flooding, a list of dozens of missing people was pinned to the wall of a relief centre.

Essex nurse Rajendra Pudasaini, president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association UK, said his relatives had been ‘swept away’ by the floods.

He said the country was paying the price for global warming and that the disaster had wreaked an ‘irreplaceable loss’ on communities.

Some nine British nationals were thought to be on a trekking tour in the Himalayas when the flood broke out.

Nepalese tour operator The Trekkers’ Society said four British men, aged 14, 50, 50 and 54, and five British women, aged 40, 46, 50, 50 and 53 were still unaccounted for.

Another operator, Kailash Journeys, said seven British nationals who were travelling with the company remain missing, including two men and five women aged between 18 and 55.

In a statement the FCDO said: ‘FCDO said: “British nationals in Nepal should follow local authority advice and exercise caution while travelling.

‘For consular assistance call (+44) (0)207 008 5000 or (+977) (0)14237100.’

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