Tsunami from the sky”/ How the catastrophe in Nepal unfolded, as the wall of water rose up to 200 meters

The tragedy that claimed hundreds of lives in the Himalayan region of Nepal and China has been described as a “tsunami from the sky,” while the death toll continues to rise.

Researchers are analyzing step by step how the catastrophe occurred, beginning when a gigantic mass of ice broke away from the northern face of Mount Tsangbu Ri. The block, estimated to have been around 600 meters wide, collapsed from a height of approximately 5,200 meters above sea level and swept everything along in its descent toward the valley.

According to the Daily Mail, the impact with the valley floor transformed the icy mass into a powerful flow of frozen water. Moving at great speed, it pulled debris and rocks from the mountain slopes, then carried them into the Lende Khola River.

Videos recorded at the Rasuëagadhi border crossing show the moment when a gigantic wall of water mixed with mud engulfed the area. Moments before the catastrophe, security cameras captured dozens of people running to escape the danger. Just a few seconds later, everything had disappeared.

Geologist Bishal Nath Upreti said the wave may have reached a height of up to 200 meters, “completely wiping out” several communities. He described the amount of water as unbelievable.

Daniel Shugar, an expert at the University of Calgary in Canada, told New Scientist magazine that melting snow and ice may have “injected a large amount of liquid water into the glacier,” which penetrated all the way to its bed. According to him, this was enough to trigger the collapse of part of the glacier.