Nepal calls off flood search with 33 Britons among 5,285 still missing as families rage at government

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026 · last updated 8 October 2026.

Nepal officially called off its search and rescue operation nearly 40 days after catastrophic flash floods along the Tibet border killed at least 1,455 people, leaving upwards of 5,000 individuals unaccounted for. Among the missing are 33 Britons, 80 Americans and more than 50 Ukrainians, most of them thought to have been carried off by tsunami-like waves that obliterated towns in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Reconstruction and recovery costs are estimated at $4.77 billion.

Usha Khatri, still searching for her husband, raged: 'I am so angry at the government for giving up on search and rescue with thousands still missing.'

Families face a legal nightmare — under Nepal's Civil Code, a missing person cannot be presumed dead for 12 years, blocking compensation, inheritance and property transfers.

Survivors performed Hindu last rites using grass effigies at Kathmandu's Pashupatinath temple, the only option for those whose relatives will never be recovered.