41 Australians still unaccounted for as Nepal flood death toll rises to 669

At a teaching hospital in Kathmandu, Nepalese authorities regularly display photographs of unidentified bodies on a wall, hoping relatives can recognise them. Each body is marked with a note indicating the district where it was found and a contact number. Crowds of over a hundred people, including relatives who have travelled from Australia, gather to search for missing loved ones.

The disaster struck four days ago when a glacier collapsed high in the Himalayas, sending a wall of water, ice and mud crashing through the valley below. The confirmed death toll has risen to 669, while nearly 3,000 people remain unaccounted for. On the Chinese side of the border, more than 550 people are missing. Among Australians, 41 remain unlocated.

On Saturday, New South Wales man Michael Keats was confirmed among the missing. His family said his Kailash travel group had reached the Nepal-Tibet border at Gyirong Port just 10 minutes before the floods hit.

Sagar Shrestha of the Nepal Red Cross Society said the death toll could still climb into the thousands, though survivors continue to be found, some rescued by helicopter from mountain areas. Fourteen hydropower plants line the affected river, six of them under construction, and people are believed to still be alive in most of them.

A major challenge has become the dignified handling of the dead, as morgues and hospitals in some districts have reached capacity. In Chitwan district, officials plan to collect DNA samples from 229 decomposing, unidentifiable bodies before burial.

Sagar Pandey, head of a trekking company, said 47 people connected to his tours are missing, including 15 Australians, some believed trapped in vehicles that also vanished near the border checkpoint.

On Saturday, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong announced a rare piece of good news: Australian woman Cara Severino had been found safe after consular staff located her and reached her by four-wheel drive. Severino said she escaped the national park with other survivors using a tractor.

Australian ambassador to Nepal Simon Ernst said damage to power, phone and communication infrastructure has hampered search efforts, with even Nepalese forces losing contact with some of their own personnel. He said the Australian and Nepalese governments were doing everything possible to locate those still missing, and families would be notified immediately if news emerged.