For families searching for loved ones missing after devastating floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, hospitals and police helpdesks have become places of desperate hope as rescue teams continue to search for survivors.
At Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, Subash Khatani moved between officials and missing-person lists, hoping to find information about his elder brother, Ram Sharan Rasaili, who is among hundreds still unaccounted for.
“My elder brother Ram Sharan Rasaili is among those missing in Rasuwa. That’s why we are out searching for him,” Khatani said at the government-run hospital.
The search comes after a tsunami-like wall of water and mud swept through villages and towns along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers on Wednesday, killing at least 180 people. Nepalese police said they had recovered 177 bodies.
Rasuwa, in northern Nepal, was the first district hit, but deaths were reported in seven districts as floodwaters surged more than 160 kilometres (100 miles) south to Chitwan, near the Indian border.
The cause of the disaster was not immediately clear. The US Geological Survey said a glacial collapse triggered seismic activity that caused “catastrophic” downstream impacts in Nepal and Tibet.
Among those still searching is Chitra Bahadur Nepali, whose nephew, Yubraj Sewak, was travelling towards Rasuwa when contact with him was lost.
“My nephew was on his way to Rasuwa and was in contact with my sister until about 8:00 am yesterday,” the 52-year-old said, showing a photograph of Sewak on his phone.
“We have not heard from him since the flood. His name is not on any of the lists we have seen, and another member of our family is also missing.”
As rescue teams scour the flood-ravaged districts for survivors, relatives continue to move between hospitals and police helpdesks, looking for any information that could lead them to their missing family members.
Bir Hospital said it would treat all victims free of charge and was “fully prepared” to handle the surge in patients, according to local media reports.
Nepal’s disaster agency said 823 people, including 579 tourists from Nepal and abroad, remained out of contact.
In Tibet, Chinese state media described the incident as a “mudslide disaster”, reporting that three people had been killed and 558 others, including 260 foreigners, remained missing.
AFP
