A British nurse is among at least 33 UK nationals reported missing after catastrophic flash floods swept through parts of Nepal near the border with China.
Sarada Simkhada, a senior nurse at Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, had travelled to the region for a Hindu pilgrimage before communications were lost in the disaster.
The floods, which struck with devastating force, have killed at least 389 people, while approximately 1,500 others remain missing.
Hundreds of tourists are believed to be among those still unaccounted for.
Family Fears Grow for Missing NHS Nurse
Simkhada, who moved to Britain more than 20 years ago, left for Nepal on Saturday to take part in the pilgrimage.
A friend described her as an extremely hardworking member of staff at Darent Valley Hospital.
She was last heard from by her husband on the day before the flooding, leaving relatives increasingly desperate for news about her whereabouts.
Her brother, Shambhu, appealed for prayers in a social media post, asking his sister to remain strong and expressing hope that rescue teams would find her safely.
The family is now waiting anxiously for confirmation of her whereabouts.
Pilgrimage Turned Into a Fight for Survival
Simkhada was among people travelling towards Mount Kailash, one of the most sacred destinations in Hinduism and Buddhism.
The mountain, located in Tibet, is traditionally associated with Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and attracts pilgrims from around the world.
Other British nationals in the region were also travelling for religious or tourism purposes when the disaster struck.
British Children Also Among the Missing
Two British children, a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, are among those reported missing.
Their disappearance has added to growing concern among British families as search teams work through areas devastated by mud, water and debris.
The number of missing UK nationals is expected to remain difficult to verify because authorities in Nepal and China are compiling separate casualty and missing-person figures.
Slough Woman Disappears During Himalayan Trip
Leena Bector, 53, from Slough, Berkshire, is another British national whose family is desperately awaiting news.
Bector, who runs a care agency, had travelled to the region to visit the Himalayas and was taking part in an excursion with FishTail Tours.
She had originally expected to travel with a friend, but visa problems meant she was alone when the disaster struck.
Her husband, Bhupesh, became alarmed after hearing about the floods and checking her location.
He said the location appeared to have remained stationary for seven hours.
Bector’s last known location was believed to be about an hour from the Friendship Bridge.
Her husband has secured a place on the next available flight to Nepal so he can join the search himself.
Streatham Man Also Remains Unaccounted For
Nabhi Das, from Streatham in south London, has also not been heard from since the flooding.
Family members confirmed that Das, a University of Kent graduate originally from Kenya, was in the area when the disaster occurred.
He is understood to work in finance and had previously travelled through the Himalayan region.
His family is now awaiting information from authorities and rescue teams operating in the affected areas.
Woman on Pilgrimage With Sister Is Missing
Hema Amin, from Croydon in south London, was travelling in Nepal with her sister when the disaster struck.
Her husband, Sunil, said he last spoke to her at about 4.30pm on Monday.
The sisters had begun a pilgrimage to Gosainkunda Lake, which was expected to continue until September 4.
Since the floods, Amin’s husband has received no further communication from her.
He described the wait for information as an extremely distressing experience, saying the family could only hope for good news.
UK Government Activates Support for Families
The British government has been assisting relatives searching for missing nationals and has established a dedicated helpline for people in both the UK and Nepal.
The UK has also pledged £5 million in assistance to support Nepal following the disaster.
The tragedy has prompted messages of sympathy from the British royal family.
King Charles and Queen Camilla, alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales, have expressed their condolences following the devastating floods.
The King said he was heartbroken by the disaster and paid tribute to the emergency responders involved in rescue operations.
Wall of Water Sweeps Through Communities
Videos emerging from the affected region showed an enormous surge of water and debris rushing down from the mountains with extraordinary speed.
Residents and tourists were seen running for safety as the torrent tore through communities, destroying buildings and sweeping away vehicles and other structures.
The force of the event was so severe that it was initially detected as a seismic event measuring 5.2 in magnitude.
Scientists Point to High-Altitude Ice Avalanche
Chinese government geologist Guo Zhaocheng said the disaster was triggered by a high-altitude ice avalanche that developed into a powerful debris flow.
According to Guo, the flow travelled at roughly 50 metres per second, or about 165 feet per second, leaving people with very little time to escape.
The debris travelled for more than 20 kilometres, gathering glacial moraine and other material as it moved downhill before becoming a destructive mudslide.
The resulting flow struck areas and port facilities on both sides of the China-Nepal border.
New Flood Threat Raises Further Alarm
Authorities are also warning that another major flood could occur if a newly formed landslide dam collapses.
China’s Ministry of Water Resources said rock, mud and debris had blocked the flow of water near the meeting point of the Tsogyal River and the Purupqiangzangbu River.
By Thursday morning, the resulting body of water was estimated to contain about two million cubic metres and had already begun overflowing.
Officials warned that another three million cubic metres could flow into the lake over the following three days, potentially increasing pressure on the natural barrier.
Nepal Issues Warning Along Bhotekoshi River
Nepal’s disaster management authorities have separately warned of another potential flood along the Bhotekoshi River.
Satellite imagery and preliminary assessments indicate that the river may have been blocked, creating another rapidly rising lake in the area affected by Wednesday’s disaster.
Authorities warned that the lake could burst and urged residents and rescue workers along lower sections of the river to move away from the banks and seek safer ground.
The warning could complicate already difficult rescue operations as teams continue searching for survivors and missing people.
Hundreds of Foreign Nationals Are Missing
The scale of the disaster extends well beyond British nationals.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that 558 people were missing in Tibet’s Gyirong County, including 260 foreign nationals.
China’s reported death toll remained at three.
It remains unclear how those figures relate to casualty and missing-person figures released by Nepalese authorities.
In Nepal, missing foreign nationals reportedly include 288 people from India, 63 from the United States, 51 from Malaysia, 34 from Australia, 33 from Britain and 25 from Canada.
People from more than two dozen countries are believed to have been caught up in the disaster.
What’s Next?
The immediate priority is to locate those still missing and move residents away from areas threatened by further flooding.
Rescue teams face difficult conditions because roads and infrastructure have been damaged, while the possibility of another landslide or flood could place rescuers themselves at risk.
For the families of missing Britons, the focus remains on establishing whether their loved ones survived and getting them home safely.
Summary
At least 33 British nationals are among those reported missing after devastating flash floods struck Nepal’s border region with China.
Among them are NHS nurse Sarada Simkhada, two British children, Leena Bector, Nabhi Das and Hema Amin.
Their families are anxiously awaiting information as rescue operations continue.
The disaster has killed at least 389 people and left around 1,500 missing, according to the figures provided in the report.
Authorities are now also confronting the threat of additional flooding from newly formed natural dams and rising lakes.
The UK government has activated support for affected families and pledged £5 million in aid to Nepal as the search and rescue effort continues.
