The number of Australians missing in the devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet has climbed overnight.
Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Thistlethwaite confirmed on Saturday the total number of missing Australians is now 41.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nepal floods leave 41 Australians missing
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“We’ve been in contact with most of their next of kin, we’ve got consular staff on the ground there in Kathmandu,” Thistlethwaite told Sunrise.
“We’re doing all we can, we’re working around the clock to try and make contact with these missing Australians.”
It comes as Nepalese authorities confirmed at least 579 people have died with 1924 people — 549 of whom are foreign nationals — still missing after the floods
Some Australian families have joined the hundreds of people travelling to Nepal in search of their loved ones.
A number of those families have posted flyers of missing people on a building in Kathmandu, where authorities are bringing those rescued or the bodies of victims found in the debris.
Rescue teams have begun searches closer to the border with Tibet, where the flood was more destructive.
Footage released by the Nepali Army shows people crawling through mud and being carried on the backs of soldiers before being winched to safety by a helicopter.
Thistlethwaite confirmed 26-year-old Wollongong woman, Cara Severino, has made contact after the flood — but efforts to rescue her are hindered because of the destruction.
“The region is devastated, the roads out of the area are completely destroyed, there’s no telecommunications infrastructure, 10,000 homes have been destroyed,” he said.
“She’s attempting to hike out as best she can and we’re trying to make contact with her to get transport to her as quickly as possible and get her safely back to Kathmandu.”
Her family issued a statement on Friday, saying they “eagerly await more information about her safe return”.
Severino’s family is just one of dozens in Australia anxiously waiting for information.
Among the youngest Australians missing are Ashwin and Aarish Muralitharan, just 11 and 14, along with their parents.
The Iyer family of four- including two sons aged 21 and 24, from Sydney’s Cherrybrook remains unaccounted for after travelling with tour operator Himalayan Glacier Adventures when disaster struck.
They had also travelled to the region with Venkatraman Balakrishnan and Chitra Venkatraman on a Himalayan pilgrimage when the flood hit.
Michael Keats, 37, from the NSW South Coast remains unaccounted for.
“He was caught up in the floods there, in the immigration centre between Nepal and Tibet, and we have not heard anything from him. We’re all very concerned and feel like there’s not much we can do. We will need a miracle to ensure his safety,” Keats’ friend said.
Australia, which has a large Nepalese population, has many stories of families hoping to make contact with their loved ones.
Bodh Adhikari from Sydney wants to know the wellbeing of his mate in Nepal. Dinesh was working in a hydropower station when the wave arrived.
For Perth-based Nepali Shailesh, he’s desperately trying to get in touch with his relatives.
