Earth scientists have been analysing satellite images to evaluate the destruction and determine what triggered devastating floods along the border between Nepal and China, while emergency crews continue searching for survivors.

Hundreds of individuals have died across Nepal and Tibet following Wednesday’s floods, with hundreds of others still unaccounted for, among them religious pilgrims and foreign nationals.

Geomorphologists Kristen Cook and Dan Shugar noted that early satellite pictures of Nepal were initially blocked by cloud cover and airborne debris.

These early views showed only that a section of glacier had detached from the Langtang Lirung peak, close to the Tibetan border.

However, clearer photographs captured on Thursday revealed that the underlying bedrock had given way beneath the glacier, pulling a vast block of ice down and driving rocks and ice directly into the valley below.