Six South Africans are STILL missing after devastating floods in Nepal (Video)

Six South African nationals remain unaccounted for following devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border.

Authorities are now turning to DNA identification in an effort to determine what happened to them.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation confirmed the update on Thursday, 10 September.

There is still no confirmation from authorities in Nepal or China/Tibet regarding any of the six missing South Africans.

who the six missing South Africans are

The floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border region on 26 August.

An earthquake triggered landslides, sending torrents of water and mud through villages and destroying homes and infrastructure.

An estimated 468 tourists remain missing overall.

Among them, six South Africans have been named.

Vivaganathan Pillay, 66, and his wife Janet, 56, are from Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, as are Surendranath Maharaj, 74, and his wife Anita Devi, 67.

Terricia Govender, 33, a data analyst from Isipingo Beach, Durban, was due home on 28 August.

A sixth individual, a businesswoman from KuGompo City, is also among those unaccounted for.

how the search is progressing

At the request of the Nepalese government, DIRCO arranged for the South African Police Service to collect DNA samples from the missing individuals’ biological relatives.

This happened through the SAPS Victim Identification Centre.

Those DNA profiles have since been sent to police in Nepal and to Interpol in Kathmandu.

This gives authorities a forensic avenue to help establish identities amid such widespread devastation.

South African diplomatic missions in New Delhi and Beijing continue to liaise directly with local authorities to coordinate the response.

SA High Commissioner to India, Nepal and Bangladesh, Professor Anil Sooklal, previously acknowledged the difficulty facing search teams. He described Nepal’s rugged terrain as a genuine obstacle to recovery efforts.

He also reassured families that both the High Commission and local consular contacts remain in constant contact with Nepalese counterparts.

The scale of the disaster has made identification an enormous task. Nepal’s health ministry has said only around 4% of the roughly 900 bodies recovered so far have been identified.

Disaster officials have also reported 35 motorable bridges, 45 suspension bridges and around 40km of road damaged across nine affected districts.

This is a genuinely heartbreaking situation for six families still living in limbo, more than two weeks on. I hope they get the answers they’re waiting for soon. Whatever those answers turn out to be, these families deserve them.

Have you or someone you know ever waited anxiously for news during an overseas disaster?