Thousands Remain Missing Weeks After Devastating Nepal Floods

Thousands of people remain missing in Nepal weeks after devastating floods and mudslides swept through mountain communities, while authorities continue to struggle to identify the bodies recovered from the disaster.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said about 5,200 people were still unaccounted for as of Sept 16, including 636 foreign nationals. At least 1,399 people have been confirmed dead.

The disaster began after a glacial collapse unleashed a huge surge of water, mud and rocks through parts of northern and central Nepal. The flooding swept through communities, hydropower facilities and transport routes, leaving widespread destruction.

Authorities have collected DNA samples from 1,206 recovered bodies and from 1,889 relatives of people reported missing. Despite the effort, only 105 bodies had been formally identified and returned to their families.

The identification process has been complicated by the scale of the disaster, the mountainous terrain and the distance bodies were carried by floodwaters. Many remains were recovered from rivers and areas far from where the flooding initially struck.

Search and rescue teams continue to work in difficult conditions. Thermal drones and helicopters have been deployed, while specialists have been brought in to search damaged hydropower facilities and tunnels where workers were reported missing.

Several rescues have offered brief moments of hope. Teams have managed to find people trapped inside tunnels and other confined spaces, although authorities say the overall chances of finding survivors are declining as more time passes.

Families of missing people, including relatives of foreign nationals, have continued seeking information from authorities. Some families have expressed frustration as updates from the rescue operation have become less frequent.

Officials said the search is being hampered by narrow airspace, difficult mountainous terrain and enormous quantities of mud and debris covering affected areas.

The government has continued communicating with foreign embassies and families while search teams work to locate missing people and recover additional remains.

For thousands of families, however, the disaster remains unresolved. Many are still waiting for confirmation of whether their loved ones survived, while others face the painful task of identifying relatives among the recovered dead.