A preliminary report commissioned by the Nepal Environment Society (NES) attributes the catastrophic floods in the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli corridor to a massive ice-rock avalanche in the high Himalayas, ruling out conventional rainfall as the trigger. The study says a huge mass of ice, rock and debris fell from about 5,200 metres in the Langtang–Lirung area of Rasuwa and entered the Lhende River. The surge then travelled downstream through the Bhotekoshi and into the Trishuli, generating a powerful debris-laden flood. The ice-rock mass travelled about 22 kilometres to Rasuwagadhi in just over seven minutes, reaching an estimated average speed of 46.3 metres per second, or 167 kilometres per hour. Authorities said on Monday that the death toll from the flash floods in Nepal had risen to 903, with bodies still being recovered.