Families of missing UK nationals have flown out to Nepal to search for their relatives as rescue teams race to locate dozens of British citizens still unaccounted for after catastrophic flash floods struck the Himalayan border between Nepal and Tibet according to the BBC. Nepalese authorities released a list of known missing tourists, which includes 33 British nationals, among them a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy reported the BBC.
Families Fly to Nepal as Search Continues for Missing Britons
The disaster occurred after a glacier collapse triggered floods that roared down valleys, destroying entire villages along the border according to The Guardian. Nepali police stated that the country’s death toll had risen to 469, with over 1,500 people reported missing across Nepal and Tibet according to Yahoo News. Tour operators confirmed that several groups travelling toward the sacred Hindu site of Mount Kailash were caught in the border region when the flash floods struck reported The Guardian.
UK Government Response and Royal Reactions
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that the UK has offered an initial £5 million to help the Nepalese government, describing the situation as very distressing and devastating situation
according to the BBC. Burnham also offered to send emergency responders and rescue support reported The Guardian. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband stated that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office crisis centre was working around the clock to help affected Britons, noting that search and rescue assistance was offered during a conversation with Nepal’s foreign minister reported Yahoo News.
King Charles and Queen Camilla declared they were heartbroken
and sent their most profound sympathy
to everyone affected according to the BBC. The Prince and Princess of Wales also expressed shock over the disaster reported The Guardian.
Missing Britons and Ground Search Efforts
Relatives have spent days in limbo trying to contact loved ones whose devices would not connect, while some family members chose to fly directly from Britain to the disaster zone reported the Daily Mail. Among those missing with links to the UK are Leena Bector from Slough, whose husband flew to Nepal according to the BBC, and Sarada Simkhada, a senior nurse at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent who was making a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash reported The Guardian.
Rajendra Pudasaini, an Essex nurse and president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association UK, stated that his wife’s auntie and uncle, their granddaughter and her husband, and his godson were swept away by the floods according to Yahoo News. Tatajana Phillips from Folkestone told the BBC she has been unable to contact her sister, Julija Jakovicka, who was near the Nepal-Tibet border for a yoga retreat when the floods hit reported the BBC. Pramod Poudel travelled to Nepal after his wife, parents, brother, and uncle were caught in the flash flooding reported The Guardian.
Threat of Further Flooding and Rescue Operations
Rescue efforts continue to face severe logistical hurdles as damaged infrastructure leaves many affected areas accessible only by helicopter reported Yahoo News. Nepali and Chinese authorities issued warnings regarding an overflowing barrier lake formed upstream after the disaster, which officials warned could trigger additional flooding according to Yahoo News. China’s Ministry of Water Resources stated that the lake held approximately 2 million cubic meters of water and was expected to receive millions more over subsequent days reported Yahoo News. Meanwhile, the Nepalese disaster authority reported that thousands of people have been airlifted by helicopter from the disaster area to Kathmandu and other locations according to Yahoo News.
