Gift of the Givers mobilises for six missing South Africans in Nepal

Six South Africans remain missing following devastating floods in Nepal, while Gift of the Givers prepares a search and rescue team for possible deployment.

The humanitarian organisation has made contact with the families of all six missing South Africans.

They formed part of a group of seven South Africans who were in the disaster zone.

The seventh South African, Sulosh Pillay, safely crossed into Tibet two days before the disaster, Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said.

Gift of the Givers prepares rescue team

Gift of the Givers Head of Search and Rescue Ahmed Bham joined an emergency meeting with Nepalese government officials on Friday.

Nepal’s foreign minister, disaster management officials and other government representatives attended the meeting.

Officials engaged Bham about the organisation’s rescue capabilities and showed particular interest in its K9 teams.

They also thanked Gift of the Givers for assisting Nepal after the devastating April 2015 earthquake.

Sooliman said the scale of the latest disaster appeared significantly greater than the figures released so far.

Gift of the Givers will now start preparing its rescue equipment in Johannesburg.

Its search and rescue team, including SAPS dog handlers, will meet at the organisation’s logistics facility at 10:30 on Saturday.

The organisation has also placed a second search and recovery team on standby.

Sooliman said Nepal currently had sufficient medical capacity, but Gift of the Givers remained ready to send medical teams if authorities required additional support.

Nepal ready to receive SA rescue team

Nepalese disaster management authorities told Gift of the Givers they would give the organisation priority status if the government called for international assistance.

Authorities would receive and host the South African team and integrate its members with Nepalese rescue teams.

Gift of the Givers has not yet confirmed a deployment and remains ready to respond should Nepal request international assistance.

Search for missing South Africans continues

Meanwhile, Gift of the Givers is working with contacts to help locate the six missing South Africans.

Prashant Pokhrel, a music teacher from South Africa who has lived in Nepal for several years, has joined efforts to find them.

Sooliman said Pokhrel had circulated photographs of the missing South Africans through local media and activated contacts in the disaster region.

Those contacts will assist with the search when conditions allow.

Gift of the Givers also knows Pillay and Mohanji, a spiritual leader in the region.

The organisation will continue preparations in Johannesburg while it awaits a possible formal request from Nepal for international assistance.