Horrifying pictures of the Nepal flash flood are being described as “like watching a movie” by a New Zealand-based Nepali man.

Five New Zealanders are among more than 1000 people missing following Wednesday’s catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepal-China border which killed at least 362 people.

RNZ understands four of the five New Zealanders missing are Suhasini Reddy, who lives in Australia, Auckland man Dejan Kuzmic, and Hamilton couple Mihir and Kinnari Patel.

The identity of the fifth person has not yet been confirmed.

Based in the Canterbury town of Lincoln, Dr Sulav Paudel said seeing the disaster unfold was unlike anything he had seen.

“It’s horrifying. It’s like things we see in dramatic movies,” he said.

“Most of us haven’t slept well.”

Dr Paudel was the treasurer for the New Zealand chapter of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA).

The group had issued an urgent plea for donations as it tries to raise emergency relief funding for the Nepal government.

NRNA New Zealand was working with other NRNA groups within its international network, including a team on the ground in Nepal.

Its executive team met on Thursday to discuss how New Zealand-based Nepali could respond to the disaster.

Dr Paudel said the group had reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to advocate for support from the New Zealand government for the disaster recovery.

He hoped the government would soon formally acknowledge the event, including what support it might be able to offer.

“In the meantime we’re also looking after our members to see whether there are any families or people who have loved ones that need support,” he said.

Given the event was still unfolding, Dr Paudel said it was too early to determine to what extent New Zealand-based Nepali may have been personally impacted.

“There are so many people that are out of reach that we don’t know what has happened to them yet,” he said.

“In terms of actual casualties, I don’t think we’ve heard from anyone.

“We expect the number (of casualties) to go up.”

There were about 1350 members of NRNA New Zealand.

A candlelight vigil for the victims of the Nepal disaster was due to be held in Auckland’s Aotea Square on Saturday.

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Police have been hunting through the night for those responsible for a suspected double homicide in Wattle Downs, South Auckland, on Thursday.

Emergency services responded to reports of a woman unresponsive at an address on Gambare Place about 1.45pm.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and, during a search of the property, police found a man who was also pronounced dead.

Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Va’aelua said the offender or offenders fled the scene prior to officers arriving.

On Thursday evening, armed police stood guard in front of the house, as neighbours looked on.

Dianna Kereopa-Turner had lived in the street her whole life. She told RNZ she had just returned home when “havoc started going on” outside.

“We thought it was our nail gun for our sleepout that we’re building going off … and then it was quite loud,” Kereopa-Turner said.

“But no, it was shooting. All we heard was gun. Then my sister came out of her room and said ‘somebody out there’s shooting’, so we gathered in whoever was loose around the house and stayed inside.”

She said the victims had only just moved in to the street: “It’s sad to know that whatever trouble was following them, obviously followed them right to the doorstep, and unfortunately it happened on this street where there’s a lot of kids and a lot of elderly people.”

Many residents had been unable to return to their homes on Gambare Place and adjoining Volante Avenue while police cordons closed the roads on Thursday afternoon, with armed police stationed at the cordons.

Another Gambare Place resident, Bobbie, said she had been at the doctors and tried to return home around 2.45pm.

“The street was already closed off, so I thought, ‘oh better shoot over to the school and pick up my niece’, got over there and it was locked down as well.”

Bobbie said they were allowed to go home just after 5pm.

She said, once home, she talked with neighbours and some were quite shocked.

While the cordon was in place, police were seen working behind a white tarpaulin on Volante Avenue. Police later confirmed staff had moved the victims to a safe location, away from the scene, to render first aid, while other staff continued working to clear the scene and make it safe.

Va’aelua said the incident appeared to be isolated, but police were not able to “rule anything out”, and were now determining the exact cricumstances of the incident.

“This is an awful set of events and no doubt unsettling for everyone involved and the wider community.”

Anyone with information on the incident that could help police with enquiries could contact 105.

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Rescue teams are searching for a New Zealand teenager missing after a boat carrying him and three other people capsized in Bangladesh, officials say.

Albert, 16, whose surname was withheld by police, went missing after the boat overturned in rough waters on Tuesday morning (all times local) near an estuary off Cox’s Bazar on the country’s southeastern coast.

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The other three New Zealanders on the boat were rescued by fishermen nearby.

“The Coast Guard is searching for the boy while a helicopter is conducting an aerial search. Fishermen have also been alerted about the missing teenager,” an official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by rough conditions in the Bay of Bengal, he added.

Mohammad Ali, the officer-in-charge of Cox’s Bazar police station, said the four had been on a trip when the boat met with an accident.

Local media reports said the four were from the same family but officials were unable to confirm that information immediately.

– AFP