As of August 30, the fifth day since massive floods devastated the Himalayan mountainous region along the Nepal-China border, the chances of survival for the missing have grown increasingly slim, intensifying the despair and sighs of their searching families.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority of Nepal, the number of missing persons within Nepal from the massive floods surged to a total of 2,498 (including 589 foreigners). Families searching for their loved ones have flocked to rescue bases and hospitals where the injured have been brought, ranging from disaster-hit areas in the central Bagmati Province to the capital city of Kathmandu.

The previous day, on the wall of a military base serving as a major rescue hub in the Bidur area of Bagmati Province, Kalka Sharda searched for the name of her son, Vinod Sharda (18), a hydropower plant worker, among the list of survivors. "I cannot find his name on the list, and the authorities are saying nothing," she told AFP.

She lamented, "If he were alive, he would have found a way to contact us somehow. It feels like there is no hope left."

Since early morning, families and relatives clutching photos of the missing have also gathered at major public hospitals in Kathmandu, going back and forth between information desks and hospital bulletin boards to carefully examine lists of the injured.

Dil Maya Lama, who traveled about 130 kilometers to find her younger brother—an employee at a hydropower plant in the Rasuwa district—told The Associated Press, "I came here holding onto hope that I could find my brother. But there is no information about him at all," she said, shedding tears.

At Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, where dozens of survivors are receiving treatment, the walls are plastered with photos of the deceased and missing. Around 60 people anxiously waiting for news of their missing relatives registered their personal information with nearby police.

Resham Tamang (28), who comes to the hospital every day to search for five friends and relatives who had been working in the Rasuwa district, told Bloomberg the previous day, "It's already the fourth day, and there's no news. There is practically no hope."

The previous day, outside the entrance of a military barracks in the Nuwakot district of Bagmati Province, Priti Karel held flyers bearing the photo of her younger brother, Milan Karel, a geotechnical engineer who worked for Doosan Enerbility.

While expressing hope that some individuals might still be alive inside the tunnels of the hydropower construction site, Karel told AP, "It has already been four days. I hope the government rescues him as soon as possible."


As the death toll in Nepal alone surged to at least 734 by today, morgues at hospitals across the country reached full capacity, leaving bodies that could not fit into refrigeration facilities to begin decomposing.

Consequently, Nepali authorities buried around 100 unidentified bodies the previous day and are digging graves today to bury hundreds more unidentified bodies, Reuters reported.

However, authorities are carrying out procedures such as collecting DNA samples, taking photographs of the bodies, and recording identifying details so that families can still confirm identities after burial.

Police officer Anil Thapa told Reuters, "Many bodies are unrecognizable. In some cases, only hands or legs are left, or just parts of the body are found. More than half of the bodies recovered so far are in an unrecognizable state."

Meanwhile, according to Nepali authorities, a total of 8,186 people, including 227 foreigners, have been rescued by rescue teams in Nepal as of today.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)