Race to find nearly 3,000 missing resumes in Nepal

Kathmandu, Nepal is once again engaged in search and rescue operations after a severe flood triggered by a glacier collapse. Nearly 3,000 people are missing, with around 2,426 missing in Nepal and 554 in Tibet's Gyirong County, including at least 540 foreign nationals, many of them Hindu pilgrims from India. The disaster has claimed at least 669 lives, with 669 bodies needing identification and burial due to their decomposed state.

The government is seeking foreign assistance, estimating the cost of rebuilding to be between $4 billion and $5 billion.

Search and rescue operations resumed on Saturday following a weather-related pause due to rain and fog. Helicopters are being deployed, and operations proceeded after a brief improvement in weather conditions. In the past, rescue efforts were suspended when a lake, formed by the flood, began overflowing into Nepal's Lhende Khola and Trishuli rivers. However, satellite images now suggest the water level in the lake is slowly decreasing.

Authorities warn that flood risks will persist until both lakes have fully drained. In Kathmandu, families of the missing gathered outside Maharajgunj Medical Campus, trying to identify relatives by comparing photographs displayed on gates and boundary walls. In Malaysia, families of 91 citizens listed as uncontactable in Tibet and Nepal remain anxious for news. The Malaysian foreign ministry emphasized that search and rescue operations and verification efforts continue.

The disaster has left families facing a daunting task of rebuilding their lives. Saraswati Ghale, a 43-year-old survivor, recounted how her home was destroyed by the flood and expressed uncertainty about her future. Nepal's Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle estimated the cost of rebuilding to be between $4 billion and $5 billion, while authorities seek technical aid to rescue people trapped in tunnels, restore transport and communication lines, identify bodies, conduct DNA testing, and store bodies for longer periods.

India has sent three flights carrying 60 tons of relief supplies and disaster-response personnel, while China has dispatched five tunnel experts to support Nepal's rescue efforts.