Controlled explosion at Nepali hydropower tunnel as rescuers look for 900 missing workers

• Rescuers in Nepal are trying to reach hundreds of workers who have been trapped in tunnels since Wednesday’s massive flash flood

• A controlled blast was carried out at a tunnel at the Trishuli site in the early hours of Monday

• 933 hydropower workers from sites across Nepal are missing – in total, 4,247 people are unaccounted for, with at least 903 known to have died

• The number of missing is a sharp rise from 2,502, which was announced on Sunday

• Of those missing, 3,655 are Nepali citizens, with 592 foreigners unaccounted for

• In Tibet, the official death toll is 16, with 546 reported missing, according to Chinese state media

Tara Mewawalla
Live reporter

The number of people missing in Nepal rose sharply today – the sixth day of rescue operations – to 4,247, according to the country’s disaster agency. At least 903 people have died.

Nepali authorities are now trying to blast into hillsides, as efforts intensify to try and find 933 missing hydropower workers, thought to be trapped in tunnels connected to 13 hydropower projects across the country.

The BBC spoke to Priya Kharel, who is struggling to find any information on her brother’s whereabouts, but hopes he is trapped in one of the tunnels

Further rain is forecast, with amber warnings in place over the next few days in the north of the country. Heavy rain has making rescue operations difficult.

On the Tibetan side of the border, emergency teams are still searching for people, while 10 have been punished by Chinese authorities accused of spreading misinformation online about the floods.

China has rejected accusations that it is censoring footage of the impact of the landslide in Tibet, saying it is releasing information “openly, transparently and in a timely manner”.

Nepal has also ordered the removal of online flood content – get BBC Verify’s analysis here.

Military hubs have been transformed into search, rescue and relief zones, with military personnel offering support.

The intensity of the relief operations nearly a week on underlines the scale of the challenge facing communities, our BBC Nepali reporters note.

We’ll continue to bring you the latest coverage as rescue efforts continue.

Laura Bicker
China correspondent

Chinese authorities have punished 10 people who are accused of spreading misinformation online.

The rumours suggested the number of missing or dead was vastly more than officially reported figures, according to a statement by the cybersecurity bureau of China’s Ministry of Public Security.

They cited the case of one individual, surnamed Qiu, had shared online that “the news reports 1,400 fatalities, but in reality 3,000 people had previously been reported missing”, while another surnamed Liu had said more than 3,000 people died in China as a result of the mudslide, the statement added.

The report did not specify what punishment each person received.

China has been censoring footage from the floods, fearing instability in the region, but on Monday said it is releasing information “openly, transparently and in a timely manner”.

Darren Bett
Lead weather presenter

In the last 24 hours the wettest weather in Nepal has been at Melamchi-Ghyang, a village northeast of Kathmandu and not far from where the floods were, where 89mm has fallen.

Over the next few days there are amber rain warnings for north-eastern parts of the country.

Computer models are showing up to 60mm of rain in this area by the end of Tuesday.

Because of the terrain, rainfall amounts can vary dramatically.

The heavy rain at this time of year is due to the southwest monsoon that pushes onto the Himalayas from India.

The rains normally continue through the whole of September and only withdraw during the first week of October.

Navin Singh Khadka
Global environment correspondent

Nepal has begun installation of CCTV cameras and a seismometer in the Rasuwa district to monitor and issue early warning in case of fresh floods, say officials with the country’s department of hydrology and meteorology.

They say six flood sensors in the affected region were swept away during the devastating debris floods last Wednesday.

The sensors helped officials know changes in the flow of the rivers in the region, and issue flood alerts through phone SMS.

With no equipment left now, and installing new sensors taking time, there is a dangerous gap in obtaining timely flood information, the officials say.

They add that the two CCTV cameras being installed will help them see in real time if any flood is coming down from the mountains upstream.

The seismometer they are installing will also help them know if there has been a major landslide or ice-rock avalanche, like the one on 26 August, as such events cause the ground to shake.

Chinese media have been reporting on new potential hazards in and around the glacial-collapse site that caused the floods.

Read more.