Sawt Falasteen - Nepal-China floods disaster: Latest developments

Here are the latest developments after Wednesday's disaster:

- Rescuers reach Tibet epicentre -

Rescuers in the autonomous Chinese region of Tibet reached on Friday the main area wiped out by the devastating mudslide, Chinese state media reported.

"At approximately 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) on 28 August, six members of the first response team from the Fire and Rescue Corps of Tibet and 15 members and one dog from the first response team of the Fire and Rescue Corps of Sichuan arrived at the border area... They are the first professional teams to reach the core rescue site," state news agency Xinhua reported.

- Death toll hits 543 -

Nepal's police announced a new death toll of at least 547 people. Chinese state media has confirmed at least five dead on the Tibet side, taking the total overall to 552.

More than 1,400 people are still missing in total on both sides of the border, including hundreds of foreigners.

- New floods risk -

Nepal issued a warning to move to higher ground after a dam in Tibet was reported to have burst.

China also halted rescue efforts, with state media saying a lake formed by immense piles of debris had begun overflowing. State media later said the risk from that lake was "decreasing" and rescue operations were proceeding "in an orderly manner".

It was not immediately clear if the lake was the same as a debris dam that Nepalese authorities warned had burst.

- Nepal appeals for aid -

Nepal appealed Friday for international financial assistance, but said it was coping without foreign rescue teams.

"It is not that we will not need help, but our security network is capable and working effectively right now," foreign ministry spokesman Lok Bahadur Chhetri told AFP. "If Nepal needs any specialised help or expertise, then we will request it."

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Beijing's help Friday.

- Stranded tourists evacuated -

Rescuers have evacuated 555 stranded tourists from Tibet, Chinese state media reported.

State broadcaster CCTV said that 499 local residents, as well as 555 tourists, had been transported out of the disaster zone as of Friday morning. It did not specify the tourists' nationalities.

- 100 trapped in tunnel -

The Nepali military has located people trapped in the tunnel of Trishuli 3A hydropower project, where they were working to find a way in to bring out the survivors.

"Two helicopters have been dispatched but it is challenging because it is tough to even locate the entry points of the tunnel," army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told AFP.

Some 350 workers and residents have been brought to safety from the site, he added, but efforts were ongoing to rescue more than 100 people trapped in the same area.

- Bodies found downstream -

In India, authorities said they had recovered seven bodies from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be flood victims.

burs-st/tw

Q.Najjar--SF-PST