The brother of a Canadian man among those missing after flash floods swept through an area along the Nepal-Tibet border says their family is on edge waiting for information.
Dhaval Shah and his wife Megha Shah, from Port Moody, B.C., were on a spiritual journey in Nepal when the floods hit. Dhaval’s brother Kheval Shah, reached at his home in Mumbai, India, said his family is desperate to know if they’ve been rescued or found.
“Everybody is on edge to get some news, if they’re rescued or found or something. Something which will make the family understand what happened to them,” Kheval Shah said in an interview Saturday.
“We’re hoping that they find them and some miracles happen and we see them again,” he added.
After Nepali authorities updated their figures Saturday, the combined toll in Nepal and Tibet rose to 676 dead and nearly 3,000 people missing. Chinese authorities have reported seven deaths and more than 550 missing, while Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll had climbed to 669 with 2,426 people missing.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Saturday that one of the 32 Canadians and permanent residents missing in the region has been located safely.
“Telecommunications in the affected areas of Nepal are being restored and Chinese authorities are now characterizing the risk of secondary flooding as “controllable,” she said in a statement. “Canadians in the region should continue to exercise caution, follow the guidelines of local authorities and Global Affairs Canada travel advisories as the situation evolves.”
The Nepal Tourism Board said Friday that 121 foreign nationals had been rescued.
Many of the missing were believed to have been on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and others. Hundreds of others have been displaced across the Himalayan region.
Shah said he last heard from his brother on Monday, and a cousin of theirs heard from the couple on Tuesday. He believes his brother and sister-in-law were waiting for immigration offices to open in order to leave Nepal at the Tibet border when the flash floods hit.
He said the Canadian government should press Nepal for answers and more information about missing Canadians.
“I know they’re doing something, but I feel that they must really push… to find where they are and to get some information,” Shah said.
Canada has said it will send $5 million in urgent humanitarian aid to support Nepal, with the money earmarked for organizations like the Red Cross to deliver assistance to people on the ground.
More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal as of Saturday.
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