[Anchor]

The exact moment of a glacier collapse, pointed to as the cause of the major floods in Nepal, has been captured on camera. Experts believe that a large-scale rock mass collapsed at this point, flowing down the valley alongside the glacier.

Reporter Jeon Hyeong-u has the details.

[Reporter]

This footage was filmed on August 26 around the Langtang Lirung peak, which stands over 7,200 meters above sea level, looking toward Tibet, China.

Yellowish dust first rises from the hillside beneath the sharp peak, immediately followed by earth and rocks cascading down amidst a dark cloud of dust.

A short while later, the glacier remaining on the hillside also collapses.

A Chinese creator who captured the scene stated that they started filming after suddenly hearing a loud roar from the mountain. This matches the analysis of University of Calgary scientists who believe that a large-scale rock mass at an altitude of about 5,200 meters collapsed, causing the glacier to break off and flow down the valley.

Satellite imagery also clearly captures the traces of the collapse.

While a photo taken on the 24th, before the collapse, clearly shows the ridge beneath the snow-covered Langtang Lirung peak, a photo taken on the 26th when the landslide occurred shows a portion of the ridge severed as if wiped away by an eraser.

The area where the rock mass collapsed is estimated to span 1 square kilometer.

[Matthieu Vuilleumier / Distinguished Professor, University at Albany (Note: translated from Korean transcription): There are already loosened rocks or unstable glaciers existing high on the mountain, and they were triggered by some catalyst.]

The rock collapse mixed glaciers and rocks together, and as they rushed down the steep V-shaped canyon, the glacier melted into debris flow, sweeping downstream at speeds reaching up to 70 kilometers per hour.

[Xu Qiang / President, Chengdu University of Technology (Note: translated from Korean transcription): This event can be classified as initially occurring as a rock and glacier avalanche, which then evolved into a debris flow.]

Experts analyzed that the permafrost, which had supported the rocks and glaciers for a long time, became unstable due to climate change, ultimately triggering this landslide and massive flood.

(Video Editing: Park Choon-bae)