The combined death toll rose to 633 persons killed, as rescue workers resumed their efforts to reach victims of a devastating natural disaster along the border between Nepal and Tibet on Saturday morning.

Nearly 3,000 people remained missing on Saturday, more than three full days after a Himalayan glacier split and collapsed, triggering flash floods along a river that cuts through several towns and a significant hiking and an active Hindu pilgrimage route.

RELATED: Caritas assessing after flash floods kill more than 100 in Nepal and China

Emergency responders resumed helicopter rescue flights after inclement weather temporarily forced a halt, while search and rescue efforts continued on the ground at several locations on both sides of the border.

The apostolic administrator of the Nepal vicariate, Fr. Silas Krishna Bogati, told Crux Now the situation is “very difficult.”

“From the border downstream along the river, the disaster has affected many areas,” Bogati said. “Roads have been washed away,” he said.

Other critical infrastructure has been destroyed, including dozens of bridges.

“Because of this,” Bogati also told Crux Now, “some communities are currently inaccessible.”

“Rescue operations are continuing, and more than 1,400 people have been rescued,” he said, mentioning as well that “[s]ome of those rescued are Indians and nationals of other countries.”

Officials and responders have been on high alert for more flooding from a new lake that formed high in the Himalayas after the first round of flooding on Wednesday of this week.

“The situation continues to be assessed,” Bogati said. He also said rumors of further incidents were causing “people to become frightened and run for safety.”

“The Catholic Church has gone into some areas and is preparing to distribute assistance. We are trying to reach people who are stranded and in need,” Bogati said.

“We are collecting relief supplies through our schools, collecting money locally, and trying to make an impact by helping some of the people affected by the disaster,” he said.

“[R]eaching those communities remains difficult,” said Bogati, who led Caritas Nepal for a dozen years and is familiar with the practicalities of disaster relief. “We hope that, with the resources we have collected, we will [be able to assist further],” he said.

On Thursday, Pope Leo XIV sent a message promising prayers for the victims and all those affected, as well as for emergency responders.

Delivered via telegram and signed by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the message offered “heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved, together with the assurance of his spiritual closeness to those affected by this tragedy.”

The telegram also offered “prayers for the emergency personnel engaged in the ongoing rescue efforts,” and invoked “divine assistance and protection” upon all involved in the effort.”

Bogati told Crux Now the pope’s message has been a buoy for the whole community.

“We are truly grateful to the Holy Father for his message of being close to those who are suffering and those who are in need, and also for his prayers for them,” Bogati said.

“The Catholic Church in Nepal is doing what it can on the ground,” Bogati said.

“For the Catholic community in Nepal,” he also said, “the immediate priority is to remain close to those suffering while continuing efforts to determine the fate of families who remain unaccounted for.”

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India issued a message on Saturday calling India’s 24 million Catholics to prayerful solidarity with their neighbors in Nepal.

“The CBCI invites all the faithful, parishes, religious communities and institutions across India to remember the victims, the bereaved families and the people of Nepal during the Sunday Holy Mass on August 30,” the bishops of India said.

“Let us unite in prayer for comfort for the grieving, safety for the missing and resilience for the nation of Nepal,” the Indian bishops said.

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