Full list of Londoners missing after Nepal floods disaster as desperate families ‘keep calling’ in hope

Nepalese officials said bridges have been destroyed and nearly 25 miles of roads have been damaged, which has complicated search efforts

A South London priest leading a tour group, a mum of two young daughters and a couple are among the Londoners who are missing and feared dead after flash floods in Nepal. Family members say they are ‘not sure what to do’ and ‘keep trying to call’ their loved ones in hope of good news.

The death toll from the disaster has reached more than 600 as a team from the UK is set to arrive in the Napalese capital Kathmandu on Saturday (August 29) to provide support with almost 2,500 people reported missing. The Nepal Tourist Board has previously said that there are 33 British nationals among those missing after Wednesday’s devastating flash flood.

As the rescue operation entered its fourth day, Nepal Army spokesman Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet said helicopter operations had been suspended on Saturday until weather conditions improved.

The rapid deployment team was due to arrive in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on Saturday to provide support for British nationals and their families. The team, consisting of specially trained crisis response staff, will work alongside the British embassy and local authorities as rescue efforts continue after flooding in the Rasuwa district, which borders China’s autonomous region of Tibet.

They will help co-ordinate assistance for British nationals arriving at and departing from the airport, support those seeking information about missing relatives, liaise with local authorities and emergency responders, and reinforce existing consular operations on the ground.

Forming part of the UK’s wider response to the flooding, which includes £5 million of humanitarian support for relief and recovery efforts, the team will also work with families in the UK concerned about loved ones in the affected area.

Bishal Nath Upreti, president of the Nepal Centre for Disaster Management, described the scene as like a “tsunami from the sky” and said villages had been “completely wiped out”.

Nepalese officials said bridges have been destroyed and nearly 25 miles of roads have been damaged, which has complicated search efforts.

A number of those missing had been making a pilgrimage to the sacred Hindu site of Mount Kailash, Nepalese tour operator The Trekkers’ Society said. The operator said nine British nationals on one of its tours to the site were among those unaccounted for: four males, aged 14, 50, 50 and 54, and five women, aged 40, 46, 50, 50 and 53.

Travel logs obtained by PA show three men aged 65, 64 and 52, and seven women aged 44, 47, 51, 60, 63, 63 and 65, are also among the missing British nationals. Tour operator Kailash Journeys said it had not been able to account for seven UK nationals: five women and two men aged between 18 and 55; travelling with the company.

The FCDO said: “British nationals in Nepal should follow local authority advice and exercise caution while travelling. For consular assistance call (+44) (0)207 008 5000 or (+977) (0)14237100.”

Those missing with links to London and the rest of the UK are listed below.

Hema Amin

Hema Amin, from Croydon, who started a pilgrimage to Gosainkunda lake on Monday that was supposed to last until September 4. The 63-year-old’s husband, Sunil Amin, told Sky News: “I keep trying to call her. I’ve been trying, trying, trying.”

Nabhi Nandan Das

Mr Das is a Hindu priest from South London who was leading a group on a tour to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar.

The Telegraph reported that the 64-year-old priest, who lives in Streatham and works at the Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre in Coulsdon, in South Croydon, was leading 11 Britons, including the missing 13-year-old girl, on the tour.

Pavan and Kavita Haldia

The couple’s 22-year-old son Prajval told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he last spoke to them on Tuesday on the phone and had a message from his parents on Wednesday morning, around an hour before the flood is believed to have hit.

Prajval told the BBC he dropped his parents off at the airport for their trip to Kathmandu where they were spending a few days sightseeing before setting out on a pilgrimage with the South London Sanatan Mandir group.

Geetha Reddy

Ms Reddy’s husband Vikram Kolagatla, who is from London, told the BBC he has not heard from his wife since the flooding hit. She has two daughters aged 12 and 14.

He said: “We’re not sure what to do. I have two little girls, and their schools are starting next week.

“The kids still don’t believe it. They think she’s stuck in the flood and that she’ll come back. They think she’s stuck somewhere and there’s no mobile network.”

Spandan Sahu, 18, his father Santosh Sahu, 46, his mother Surabhi Manmath Padhy, 44, and sister Syna Kumari Sahu, 13

Spandan had just finished his A-levels at Royal Grammar School, Guildford, and according to his LinkedIn was preparing to study philosophy, politics and economics at university.

His profile said he was a senior prefect at the private school and a member of the hockey and cricket teams.

His mother, Ms Padhy, won the categories of “Mrs Popular” and “Mrs Goodwill” in the 2018 Mrs India UK beauty pageant finals and his father Mr Sahu is chief executive of UK pharmaceutical technology company Charac.

They live in the Surrey village of Cobham, with a neighbour describing them as a “lovely family”.

Sumitra Sapkota

Ms Sapkota’s husband Pramod Poudel flew to Nepal on Thursday to search for her as well as his mother, uncle and brother.

Pramod Poudel, 24, who runs a Nepalese street food company in Sussex, told The Telegraph: “The flood came and took everyone, including the house.

“I haven’t heard from them because there’s no power or anything. I am very sad.”

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Poudel said his mother, brother and uncle are also missing since the flood.

Leena Bector

Ms Bector, 53, a director of a care agency from Slough is among 27 travellers associated with the Fishtail Tours and Travels group currently unaccounted for.

Her husband, Bhupesh Bector, told The Times: “I know that she’s in Nepal for sure… so even if they find her today or tomorrow, I need to be there.”

Sarada Simkhada

Ms Simkhada is a senior nurse at Darent Valley Hospital in Kent, who was in Nepal making a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.

Her brother Shambhu wrote on social media: “My dear sister, wherever you are, please stay strong. We are praying for your safety every moment and waiting desperately for you to return home.”

Hemangini Patel

Ms Patel’s daughter told the BBC that her mother’s last known location is from a video from TikTok which was shared as she crossed into Tibet. She said her mother, 65, and her aunt, Hema Amin, had been on an Alpine Eco Trek tour when the flooding hit.

Bipin and Mala Patel

Mala, 60, and Bipin, 66, Patel, from Coventry, went missing after travelling to Nepal and Tibet on a pilgrimage to the sacred Hindu site of Mount Kailash.

Their son, Deepesh Patel, told the Press Association said the family last heard from the couple, who run a tutoring business, on Tuesday and their last known location was in the Gyirong area of the Nepal-China border.

Deepesh’s brother Anant Patel, told Sky News he was “shocked” at the lack of information about their whereabouts.

Speaking to Sky News, Prajval said his parents “mean everything to me”.

Pravin Atmakur

The 54-year-old NHS psychiatry consultant was leading a pilgrimage of 77 people to Mount Kailash when the flood hit, according to the Telegraph.

His wife, Manjula, has travelled to Kathmandu from the UK to search for her husband, the newspaper said.

“I came here with the only agenda that I want to take Pravin back home alive,” Ms Atmakur said, speaking to the paper from Nepal.

“No one told us anything. We clearly feel let down by the British government. There is no information, they are waiting for China to share the information, updates,” she added.

Her husband was born in southern India before moving to the UK and their son studies at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Neetu Goyal Tiwari

The 51-year-old’s brother Naresh Goyal, told the BBC his sister has not been seen since Wednesday and that completing the pilgrimage was “her dream”.

Ms Tiwari, a British citizen, had been travelling with a group from the spiritual organisation Isha Foundation and was expected to travel to India on Thursday and meet her brother and parents, according to the broadcaster.