Pakistan, Aug. 30 -- Rescuers in Nepal and China were battling Saturday to locate thousands of people missing days after a deadly, tsunami-like wall of water and debris swept through the Himalayan region, engulfing entire villages.

The latest figures from both countries put the number of missing close to 3,000, with 633 bodies recovered - and reports of some dead possibly swept downstream as far away as India. Rescue worker Kawan Koirala, from the Nepal Scout Disaster Response Team, said they were struggling in thick, leg-sucking mud.

"People want their want their family's body back, either dead or alive, but we cannot find them. you can see the mud," he told AFP, exhausted after an 18 hour shift.

"It is very traumatic for me too. It i...