Some tourists previously reported missing after Nepal's devastating floods have made contact with authorities, offering a glimmer of hope, while families of locals who remain unaccounted for are holding symbolic funerals for loved ones feared dead.
Nepal's Foreign Ministry said 324 foreign nationals have been rescued, while 590 people from 39 countries are still missing following the Aug. 26 disaster. The country's disaster management agency said at least 1,204 people have been killed and more than 4,200 remain missing.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the number of Australians reported missing had dropped from 43 to 38 after five people were confirmed safe overnight.
“Amidst all of this tragedy, we are seeing some positive news,” Albanese said while attending a regional summit in Palau, adding that efforts were continuing to locate others.
Australia said Thursday it would send a team of drone operators to Nepal within days to support search and rescue operations.
Nepal Tourism Board spokesperson Sunil Sharma said at least five other tourists previously listed as missing had contacted authorities by phone or email in recent days.
The disaster is believed to have been triggered by a glacial collapse in the Himalayas, sending huge amounts of rock, ice and meltwater into valleys and causing rivers in Tibet and Nepal to rise rapidly. Floodwaters swept away homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
Families hold symbolic funerals
In Nuwakot, one of the hardest-hit districts, some families have held symbolic funerals for relatives who remain missing and are feared dead.
For Hindu families, cremation is an important final rite. Performing the ceremony without recovering the bodies can offer families a sense of spiritual closure.
Mukunda Rijal said several of his cousins and their daughters were still missing, prompting the family to carry out symbolic funeral rites.
Along the banks of the Trishuli River, a priest placed straw effigies representing the missing relatives on funeral pyres and set them alight as family members gathered with traditional offerings.
Authorities have also been burying recovered bodies in temporary graves until they can be identified. DNA samples are being preserved, while photographs and other identifying details are being recorded to help match the bodies with missing people and eventually return them to their families.
China opens access route for rescue teams
Across the border in China, rescue workers have completed a temporary road to reach the disaster-hit area near Gyirong Port, state broadcaster CCTV reported Wednesday.
The route will allow heavy machinery to reach the border crossing area, which was severely damaged by the floods and buried under water, mud and rocks.
China's state news agency Xinhua said at least 21 people had been killed and 541 others remained missing on the Chinese side of the disaster zone.
Survivors seek shelter in Kathmandu
Meanwhile, hundreds of flood survivors have fled to Kathmandu in search of shelter.
About 400 people, most of them from the town of Timure, around 110 kilometers west of the capital, are staying at the Yellow Gumba monastery. Local residents, relatives and charity groups are providing food and other relief supplies.
Among them is 21-year-old Riya Tamang, who escaped with her 10-month-old baby as floodwaters approached her home. She said she lost her grandparents in the disaster.
“I was the last one to leave the house. It was so difficult to escape,” she said.
Her husband, who works as a cook in Gyirong on the Chinese side of the border, also survived. The couple are now staying in contact through video calls.