Latvian Foreign Ministry issues first official update on citizens in Nepal

Latvia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Consular Department has released its first official summary regarding Latvian nationals in Nepal, where flash floods triggered by a glacier collapse have killed at least 469 people, with more than 1,400 still reported missing.

The MFA's list, compiled from multiple sources including reports from relatives and friends, currently contains information on 39 tourists from Latvia. Of these, 34 belong to Latvian nationals from two tour groups. The department has received reports of 28 people who have been unreachable since the disaster struck.

Lack of registration complicates efforts

The ministry says the situation is complicated by the fact that none of the members of the two tourist groups had registered with the Consular Register. Only one individual traveler had registered, and that person has since been located and is safe. The department sent an update to relatives on the afternoon of August 27.

Nepal's Tourism Department has already published a list of six Latvian citizens considered missing, and their relatives have been notified. The MFA expects the list to be updated soon.

Rescue operations continue

Latvia's honorary consul in Nepal has handed over the list of Latvian nationals to local authorities and met with the country's interior minister. So far there is no information that any Latvian citizen has been injured. The consul continues to liaise with local authorities, while Latvia's embassy in China is also in contact with Nepalese institutions and monitoring developments.

Rescue work continues in the affected region, which currently has no phone or internet connectivity. Rescued individuals are being gathered in the neighboring province of Nuwakot, where registration and publication of survivor lists is expected to begin within the next two days. A list of rescued individuals already published by the rescue service does not yet include any Latvian nationals. Nepal's police have also set up an online portal to help families identify unrecognized individuals, including lists of missing and found persons; the link has been shared with relatives in Latvia.