At Kathmandu’s TU Teaching Hospital, relatives of the missing gather anxiously, awaiting news of their loved ones.
Ram Khumari Shrestha holds up her phone and says, “This is my husband. He was traveling to Rasuwa for work as a driver and was in touch with me until 8 p.m. yesterday.”
“But this morning I couldn’t reach him; his phone was switched off,” she told the BBC.
Mani Shrestha Bishwa also waited at the hospital on Wednesday night, hoping for word from his younger brother, cousin, uncle and a friend.
“I last spoke with them at 8:30 a.m.,” he said.
Trekking guide Sonam Dorjee narrowly escaped the flood that struck his home village of Rasiwa Syafru, having departed just an hour earlier at 08:00 local time.
While driving toward Kathmandu, Dorjee told the BBC he heard the roar of floodwaters rushing into the village.
“It sounded like an earthquake,” he said. “My house has collapsed—I’ve even seen a photo of the damage.”
Dorjee said his sister, Dechen Tamang, is missing, together with her husband and several other relatives.
He described the flood as sudden and devastating.
“Many survivors are now homeless and require emergency rescue, evacuation, food, temporary shelter and medical assistance,” he added.
He continues to pray for his sister’s safe return, noting, “There’s about a ten percent chance we hope for.”
