Twenty-nine Canadians remain unaccounted for after Nepal-China flood disaster

Tashi Farmilo

Twenty-nine Canadian citizens and permanent residents remain unaccounted for along the Nepal-China border more than a week after a glacier collapse unleashed catastrophic flash flooding, with efforts now turning to collecting DNA from affected families to help identify the dead.

The count may still change as contact is established with people in remote areas, and one Canadian previously reported missing has been found safe. The locations of the missing have not been disclosed, out of privacy concerns.

A team of consular officials is acting as the main point of contact for affected families and coordinating with authorities in Nepal and China. Canada has also committed $5 million in humanitarian funding and is sending more than 18,000 relief items to Nepal from stockpiles managed by the Canadian Red Cross.

The catastrophe began on the morning of August 26, when a glacier gave way near Langtang Lirung and sent a wall of water and debris surging down the Bhotekoshi River system, along which tens of thousands of people live. Scientists have pointed to global warming, which is destabilizing high-altitude ice, as a likely factor.