Nepal search for missing after flash floods officially ends, with nearly 5,300 people still unaccounted for

The families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims.

While many families are upset by decision, others need death certificates for insurance, other purposes

The Associated Press

· Posted: Oct 07, 2026 9:24 AM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes ago

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The families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims.

The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and rescue operations for victims of the Aug. 26 floods will cease. Instead, authorities will concentrate on rehabilitation and reconstruction, including restoring roads and bridges cut off by floods, particularly in remote areas where damaged infrastructure has made aid deliveries difficult.

Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of at least 1,455 people, but 5,285 others remain missing, including hundreds of foreign nationals.

Two weeks ago, Global Affairs Canada told CBC News that it was aware of 29 Canadians and permanent residents in Nepal and the Tibet autonomous region whose whereabouts and well-being after the flash floods have not yet been confirmed, but cautioned that the number could fluctuate based on new information. CBC News has requested an update from the department, but did not immediately hear back.

Hopes for finding survivors were briefly revived after two Nepalese workers were rescued from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project on Sept. 4, and again two days later when rescuers found a Chinese man at the same location.

WATCH | Rescuers found people alive several days later:

2 more people found alive 10 days after devastating Nepal floods

September 5|

Duration

3:16

Two more people have been rescued alive in Nepal 10 days after devastating floods hit the country, including a worker trapped in a hydropower tunnel and a woman found inside a damaged home. More than 5,000 people remain missing.

Families of victims have held protests and vigils in Nepal, calling for search efforts to be improved.

"I am so angry at the government for giving up on search and rescue with thousands of people still missing. I just don't understand how they can do that when we still have hope left that our loved one can still be found," said Usha Khatri, who has spent days searching for her husband in multiple towns where the river flows and bodies have been recovered.

A general view on Sept. 28 shows damaged houses covered in sludge in the aftermath of the Aug. 26 flash flood, at Betrawati Bazaar in Nepal's Rasuwa district. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images)

During her ongoing search, she has checked photos of bodies that were recovered but buried for preservation until identification is made.

"Either they have to give up the body or show some solid proof that my husband is gone, and only then can they declare him dead," Khatri said.

"They have abandoned us and they should not have stopped the search," said Mahesh Shrestha, whose brother was an engineer at a hydropower plant that was hit. "Our family demands they continue looking for him."

Death certificate, burial requirements

Others welcomed the decision and said they are seeking government-issued death certificates.

"After so many days and weeks, there is little or no hope of finding anyone alive. We are sure that none of our family members survived and we are just looking for a closure," said Nirajan Poudel, who lost five family members in the flood.

Satellite images show glacier collapse that triggered flooding at Nepal-China border

August 27|

Duration

7:24

Jakob Steiner, a geoscientist at the University of Graz in Austria, says images obtained from satellites show that 'the lower part of a tongue of a glacier completely sheared off across a width of 1,300 metres' and dropped off a cliff onto a lake 2,000 metres below. Steiner said climate change played a role, and the area was known to be at a high risk for a collapse.

Several people whose relatives remain missing have performed symbolic funerals. Cremation is an important final rite in the Hindu tradition and performing the ceremony even without a body provides a sense of spiritual release for some families.

Poudel said the government has so far refused to issue death certificates, saying laws need to be amended first. Death certificates are necessary in Nepal for families to receive compensation, insurance and inherit properties.

Nepal's government did not immediately respond to a request by The Associated Press for more information about the death certificates.

The government estimates reconstruction and recovery will cost $4.77 billion US. Nearly 33,000 people have been affected and about 7,500 homes were damaged or destroyed.