Rescuers are searching for 19 people missing in severe flooding in Nepal that swept away a key bridge connecting the country with China.

At least eight people were killed and over two dozen were missing after the Bhote Koshi River flooded, washing away the "Friendship Bridge" that links China and Nepal, officials said on Tuesday.

Nepal’s mountainous terrain is vulnerable to flash floods. Disasters have gotten deadlier in recent years in part because of changing climate patterns. Erratic rainfall, floods, landslides, avalanches and glacial lake outbursts are becoming more serious.