NEW YORK, August 26. /TASS/. A snow-rock avalanche is believed to be the likely cause of the devastating flood in Nepal after a piece of a glacier chipped off and fell into a valley from a height of more than a kilometer, The New York Times quoted preliminary geological analysis as saying.

"It looks like a glacier in the area basically broke clean off, allowing it to fall just over a vertical kilometer to the valley bottom," said Daniel Shugar, a geologist at the University of Calgary in Canada who studied satellite imagery to analyze what happened.

"The bottom looks like a bomb exploded – it’s just deposits from the broken-up glacier."

According to the geologist’s estimates, a chunk of ice with a width of about 2,000 feet snapped cleanly off the glacier sending a mixture of ice and water to the valley floor. By his assessment, the chunk of ice fell from an altitude of around 17,000 feet, dropping almost 4,000 feet.

But he said that it was too early to rule out other possible factors.

The flood hit the northern regions of Nepal on Wednesday morning. According to preliminary data, the flood wave was caused by a collapse of a snow·rock avalanche on the border between Nepal and China. According to the latest information, search and rescue teams found the bodies of 95 people. Hundreds were injured. Many houses and infrastructure were destroyed.

Earlier reports indicated that at least 384 travelers, including 291 foreign nationals, are missing in the flood zone. The rescue operation is ongoing.