Photo credit: Reuters
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 Associated Press reports that 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 foreigners.
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 ones can still be found,” said Usha Khatri, who has spent days searching for her husband in ultipletowns where the river flows and bodies have been recovered.
