What we know about the 33 British nationals missing in Nepal

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What we know about the 33 British nationals missing in Nepal

A split image of Pramod Poudel's wife (left) and Neetu Goyal Tiwari (right). Both are smilingImage source, Pramod Poudel and Naresh Goyal
ByHenry Moore
  • Published

Families are flying out to Nepal to help the ongoing search for 33 British nationals still missing after deadly floods hit the country.

The brother of Neetu Goyal Tiwari, one of the missing Brits who has not been seen since Wednesday, has appealed to officials to locate his sister.

“Please help us find her”, Naresh Goyal told the BBC as he struggled to hold back his emotions.

On Friday, Nepalese authorities named 573 tourists who are still missing in the country and despite fears of a second wave of flooding, search efforts have continued.

And as rescue efforts continue in the aftermath of the disaster which killed at least 538 people, details of the missing are slowly emerging.

Tiwari, 51, had travelled to Nepal to take part in the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, which was “her dream”, her brother Naresh Goyal told the BBC.

She travelled to Delhi from London before heading to Kathmandu on 14 August with a group from the spiritual organisation Isha Foundation.

Tiwari was expected to return to India on Thursday and meet her brother and parents. But now, the family is desperately searching for answers.

“We have called every helpline given by the Indian government and reached out to the British Embassy in Kathmandu as well,” Goyal said.

“Please help us find her,” he said, his voice breaking. “We are all very scared.”

Neetu’s husband, Shantanu, added she had been at the Gyirong checkpoint when the floods struck, so the search for her is being coordinated by China.

Bipin and Mala pose for a photo. Both wear coats and he has an arm around her shoulderImage source, Handout/Anant Patel

Anant Patel told BBC Your Voice that he is still waiting for news on his missing parents, Bipin and Mala Patel, who are from Coventry.

The 29-year-old believes his parents – who are also on a pilgrimage – crossed into Tibet from Nepal moments before the the landslide hit the Gyirong border crossing.

He and his brother Deepesh are in touch with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and he told the BBC: “It’s a difficult situation for us all, and we are doing our best to stay strong as best as we can in the circumstances.”

Pramod Poudel, who lives in Uckfield in East Sussex, told the BBC he has not heard from his wife Sumitra Sapkota and family since the flood hit on Wednesday.

“It’s a very, very difficult time for me and for my family and my country at this moment, but obviously I have to go and see what’s happening there,” he said.

Poudel, who goes by the name Pedro, said he is travelling home to Nepal because “my family needs me”.

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The daughter of Hemangini Patel, 65, said she is still yet to hear from her mother or her aunt Hema Amin, 63.

Patel told BBC Your Voice her mother’s last known location is from a TikTok video shared at 06:00 Nepal time, crossing into Tibet.

She said her mother and aunt had been travelling with the Alpine Eco Trek tour when the flooding hit.

“We are trying to get through to British embassy in China but can’t even get through,” Patel said.

Essex nurse Rajendra Pudasaini said his relatives were “swept away” by the floods.

“My wife’s auntie and uncle, and their granddaughter and her husband are missing, and my godson as well,” he said.

“They’re gone. The speed the water came, they couldn’t be saved, they were just swept away.”

Also missing is Sarada Simkhada, a senior nurse at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent.

Her brother Shambhu said that her family was desperately waiting for news of her safety after she lost contact with her relatives while on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.

“My dear sister, wherever you are, please stay strong. We are praying for your safety every moment and waiting desperately for you to return home,” he wrote on social media.

A family of four, including an 18-year-old A-Level student and a 13-year-old girl, from Surrey are also among the missing.

Spandan Sahu, 18, was in Nepal with his father Santosh Sahu, 46, his mother Surabhi Manmath Padhy, 44, and sister Syna Kumari Sahu, 13.

Spandan had just finished his A-levels at Royal Grammar School Guildford.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the school said: “It is with great concern that we have been informed that a former student, along with members of his family, have been reported missing in Nepal.

“Whilst we are hoping for positive news, we do not have any further information at this time.

“Our thoughts, love and deepest sympathies are with all of the families and loved ones of anyone affected by this tragedy in Nepal at this incredibly difficult time.”

Vikram Kolagatla, from London, told the BBC he has not heard from his wife, Geetha Reddy, since the flooding hit.

Reddy, who has two daughters aged 12 and 14, had been in Hotel Kailash in Rasuwagadh when the flooding hit.

“We’re not sure what to do. I have two little girls, and their schools are starting next week,” Kolagatla added.

“The kids still don’t believe it. They think she’s stuck in the flood and that she’ll come back. They think she’s stuck somewhere and there’s no mobile network.”

Geetha Reddy stands next to a tour guide in Nepal inside an airportImage source, Vikram Kolagatla

Tatajana Phillips, from Folkestone in Kent, told the BBC she has not been able to contact her sister who was near the Nepal-Tibet border when devastating flash flooding hit.

She said the last known location of her sister Julija Jakovicka was in the border area an hour before the flash floods struck.

“Then there is no more news,” she told the BBC.

Phillips said her sister, a mother-of-two living in Germany, was in the country for a yoga and meditation retreat.

“We are terribly worried,” added Phillips’ husband Ben. “We just know where they were and that’s really tough.”

Julija Jakovicka sits at a restaurant table and smiles, she is wearing a black t-shirt and a white and black scarf.Image source, Handout

Elsewhere, Fishtail Tours and Travels confirmed Leena Bector, from Slough, was among 27 travellers linked to the tour company who remain unaccounted for.

Her husband, Bhupesh Bector, told The Times: “I know that she’s in Nepal for sure, so even if they find her today or tomorrow, I need to be there.”

University of Kent graduate Nabhi Das from Streatham in South London has also been widely reported as missing Nepal.

A close up of Nabhi Das, he is wearing glasses and smiling.Image source, Facebook

A British psychiatrist is also among the missing.

Pravin Atmakur, 54, was leading a group of 77 pilgrims in Tibet when the floods hit, the Telegraph reports.

His wife, Manjula Atmakur, has travelled to Nepal to help look for him.

She said she felt let down by the British government’s response to the flooding.

Several of those missing had been making a pilgrimage to the sacred Hindu site of Mount Kailash, Nepalese tour operator The Trekkers’ Society said.

The operator said nine British nationals on one of its tours to the site were among those unaccounted for, including four males, aged 14, 50, 50 and 54, and five females, aged 40, 46, 50, 50 and 53.

Tour companies including Alpine Eco Trek, The Trekkers’ Society, Himalayan Glacier US, Kailash Journeys and Fishtail Tours have reported missing British nationals while on trips with the companies.

Alpine Eco Trek said it has not been able to establish contact with 12 Britons who were booked on a tour to Mount Kailash and were in the region when the flash floods struck.

BBC graphic showing how a glacier collapse sent ice and rock debris into a river between Tibet and Nepal

The company’s travel logs which were shared with PA Media.

Four of the firm’s Nepali tour guides are also missing.

The flood hit early on Wednesday in Rasuwa, just north of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.

Preliminary information suggested it was caused by an earthquake, but the US Geological Survey said additional analysis indicated “the seismic energy was instead generated by a landslide.”

It said a magnitude 5.2 seismic event caused by a “glacial collapse and debris flow” occurred near the border at 08:37 local time (03:52GMT) on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK has offered £5m to help the Nepalese government following the floods, saying it was a “very distressing and devastating situation”.

He had previously urged Britons in the region “to follow guidance from the local authorities and follow our travel advice”.

Speaking on Thursday, King Charles said he and the Queen were “heartbroken” and sent their “most profound sympathy” to those affected.

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