Play store
Families searching for relatives missing after Nepal’s devastating floods are gathering at a Kathmandu hospital, where photographs of missing people and unidentified bodies have been posted on a wall.
More than 1,200 people have died and around 4,200 remain missing after floods and landslides triggered by a glacier collapse last week. With more than a week gone, hopes of finding survivors are fading, though rescue operations continue.
At Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, relatives scan thousands of photographs for signs of their loved ones.
“I come here every day with relatives and friends, hoping to find some news,” said Sati Sigdel, whose cousin Sweety Paithan remains missing.
Another relative, Swapna Neupane, said four members of her family were missing. “We are hoping for a miracle. It is very difficult to stand in front of thousands of photographs,” she said.
Some families have also begun performing symbolic funerals with straw effigies after failing to recover their relatives’ bodies.
Despite the uncertainty, Sigdel continues to return to the hospital wall each day, hoping for news of her missing cousin.