Families in Kathmandu are desperately searching for relatives missing since a flash flood in Nepal's Rasuwa district. They are pasting photos at morgues and checking hospitals, clinging to hope that their loved ones are alive and awaiting rescue.
A Desperate Search
At the entrance near the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital's morgue, Prabin Pakhrin pasted a paper with a photo of his brother-in-law Rajkumar Lama, who has gone missing since Wednesday's flash flood. Rajkumar was working as a driver in the Timure area bordering the Tibetan side of Nepal. As per Pakhrin, his last known location was Ghattekhola near the Tibetan border at around 8 amon Wednesday morning before the flood swept the hillside residential area.
"He was working as a driver there. One of his colleagues who survived said that he (Lama) was in Timure till 8 am that morning and my brother went towards China, a place called the Ghattekhola (Nepal) and then he has been out of contact. We haven't received any information about him," Prabin told ANI.
Prabin has reached out and inquired in all possible places to ascertain the status of his brother; it ranged from the District Administration Office, Rasuwa, to the downstream district of Chitwan, but his status still remains unknown. The family then decided to paste his photo along with the contact details, as dozens of other missing family members put up the notice with hope to get some news.
"We contacted the District Administration Office, Rasuwa, the Police and all possible authorities, bodies and persons whom we know and can expect of including his colleagues. Thinking of the worst, we also asked our relatives to check in the morgues of Chitwan following the possibility of his body being swept down to the low-lying areas but none of the bodies found there are recognisable. Only one mark to identify him is the ear-piercing, but we haven't found any bodies that match his description," Prabin added.
Another Family's Pain
Amongst the crowd of the family members desperately going through the images pasted on the wall was Ashok Chand. His brother, who worked at the projects in Rasuwa, has also been missing since Wednesday morning. This elder brother is searching for his younger brother Harish, whose whereabouts are yet to be ascertained.
"He was in his office when the disaster struck- the Upper Trishuli- 1 (216). He was in contact of that day and said he was at the company on duty," Ashok told ANI.
In order to ascertain the status of his brother, Ashok has travelled to all the hospitals in Kathmandu, checking through the list of the admitted or treated injured. He even checked on the morgues of Chitwan, checked all the photos of the victims kept on display there, to the last accessible place in Nuwakot, but got no answer. On the fourth day, he checked the least favoured place to look for his loved ones- the morgue but still was not able to get an answer of where his brother is.
"At first there was an information deficit. We checked all the hospitals that are in Kathmandu. I even went to Chitwan and checked all the bodies found there, after that I even went to Nuwakot- up to the place where it was accessible but still there is no clue about him. Today, am here (in Kathmandu) to check for the bodies that has arrived lately and check the photos that are hung here," Ashok said.
Widespread Devastation and Rising Death Toll
Families of those missing in the flood are in deep sorrow and pain mixed with agony and some hope as the death toll continues to rise. As per the Nepal Police, the death toll in the August 26 flooding stands at 675, with nearly 2500 missing. The search and rescue operations have continued for four days with focus centred on the high-lying and completely wiped-out areas of Rasuwa. The area where Rajkumar and Harish were last known has been completely wiped out in the flood.
A Glimmer of Hope Amidst the Agony
As both the family members of Rajkumar and Harish are struggling to know their status, they still have hope that their loved ones might be somewhere safe and awaiting rescue.
"The faint hope that we have is that my brother might be taking shelter and waiting to be evacuated from the jungle high in the Timure region. One of the video that has been circulating on social media has a statement of a boy claiming there are people still wait for evacuation in the jungle out of which some are seriously injured with fractures, head injuries and unable to walk who have been requesting to take them along; if the government would pay some attention towards it then it would be really good," Prabin, brother of missing Rajkumar, told ANI.
The widespread destruction by the flood has left more than 10,000 people directly affected, rendering them homeless. The settlements in high-lying slopes bordering Tibet have been completely washed out by the intensity of the flood that accelerated following the sudden outburst of a glacier. The Timure and SyafruBesi- the major settlements have been wiped clean by the flash flood that swept with intensity.
"It's the fourth day since the disaster; a well-built person would obviously start to show physical weakness within this time span that too without water, food making situation serious, those who are stuck in the flood we cannot image that as such. Still, the news that people are stuck and awaiting rescue in those regions still gives up the hope, it doesn't let the hope die. I checked all the photos, checked the logs of injured ones- as I don't see his name in the both the lists there is a glimmer of hope that he might be out there waiting to be rescued," Ashok sounded hopeful. (ANI)
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