The devastation in Nepal has become a deeply personal tragedy, with hundreds still missing as rescuers continue a race against time in the Himalayan nation.
Across Britain, India and the wider South Asian diaspora, families have spent days refreshing phones, calling embassies and searching for fragments of information about relatives who travelled to Nepal for work, pilgrimage or spiritual journeys.
The catastrophe that began on August 26 after a glacier collapse triggered devastating floods and mudslides along the Nepal-Tibet border has now claimed more than 1,300 lives, while thousands remain unaccounted for. On September 8, Nepal reported 1,357 deaths and 5,326 people missing, while the combined toll in Nepal and Tibet was around 1,400 dead and more than 5,800 missing.
Among those caught in the disaster are Indian pilgrims travelling towards Mount Kailash, hydropower workers and tourists. Their plight has given the disaster an immediate resonance among South Asian communities in Britain, where Nepal and India are bound by longstanding family, religious and cultural ties.
Hundreds remain missing
India's Ministry of External Affairs said 275 Indian nationals remained missing, while 166 had been rescued. A further 1,907 Indian citizens who had crossed from China into Nepal were safely evacuated. India has sent around 95 tonnes of relief supplies and deployed 54 specialists, including tunnel-rescue personnel, forensic experts and medical teams.
For families still waiting, however, numbers offer little comfort.
The Indian Embassy in Beijing has asked families of missing Indian nationals to submit DNA samples to help identify bodies recovered from the disaster zone. In Karnataka, eight families have already submitted samples.
The disaster has also struck the British-connected South Asian community. More than 30 British nationals remain missing, according to reports, while the UK has provided humanitarian assistance and deployed personnel to support British citizens and the wider relief effort. The British Red Cross has opened a disaster appeal, with the King making a personal donation to its fund.
Miracle rescues
But amid the grief, there have also been extraordinary moments of hope.
On September 4, rescuers reached two Nepali hydropower workers, Kabir Maharjan and Sanjay Sah, who had survived nine days inside a mud-filled tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A project.
The two men had found refuge in a small pocket of air underground. Their survival seemed almost impossible. Sah reportedly prayed while Maharjan drank muddy water as they waited for rescuers to reach them. Eventually, teams heard sounds from inside and began clearing the enormous mass of mud and debris blocking the tunnel.
A Chinese worker was subsequently rescued from another tunnel, while a 64-year-old Nepali woman was also found alive beneath debris.
Rescuers race to reach workers trapped underground
The search is now increasingly focused on hydropower tunnels. Around 900 workers were believed to have been at affected hydropower sites when the disaster struck, with 121 still feared trapped inside tunnel networks, particularly around the Chilime project in Rasuwa district. Specialist drilling equipment, oxygen supplies and other machinery are being used as rescuers attempt to reach them.
The terrain, however, remains a formidable enemy. Roads and bridges have been swept away, rivers remain swollen and unstable ground continues to threaten rescue teams. More than 7,500 homes have been destroyed and at least 12 hydropower projects damaged, with preliminary estimates putting Nepal's losses at around $2.56 billion.
The destruction has also severed vital transport links. The Gyirong border crossing between Nepal and Tibet was devastated, while communities along the Trishuli valley have been left buried beneath mud and debris.
India’s rapid response wins praise in Nepal
International assistance has grown as the scale of the disaster has become clearer. India and China have deployed specialist teams, while Australia, South Korea, the United States, the United Nations and humanitarian organisations are supporting the response. India has also provided Bailey bridges, medical supplies, generators, food, tents and water-purification equipment to help reach isolated communities.
Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah thanked India in Parliament today for its swift response to the disaster. Nepal’s only billionaire and philanthropist, Binod Chaudhary, also praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the speed of India’s relief efforts.
For Nepal, however, the crisis is increasingly about what comes after the rescue operation.
The government has called for international climate compensation, seeking $20 million through the UN's loss-and-damage mechanism. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has argued that Nepal contributes less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions yet faces devastating consequences from a warming Himalayan environment. The country estimates that the wider reconstruction bill could run into billions of dollars.
The country observed a national day of mourning on September 7 for those killed, with people lighting candles to mark the final day of the traditional 13-day Hindu mourning period.
National flags were flown at half-mast as commemorations were kept subdued, reflecting the ongoing search for survivors. Candlelight vigils were also held in the evening to honour the victims and remember those still missing.
