KATHMANDU, Aug 29: Every ambulance arriving at the National Trauma Center on Friday gave Sonia KC a moment of hope—and then disappointment.
KC, from Chautara in Sindhupalchok, watched each ambulance closely, hoping to find her missing brother, Shivaram. She also listened intently as police announced the names of injured people over a loudspeaker. But each time, his name was missing.
For three days, KC has been moving between Kathmandu’s hospitals in search of her brother, who has been out of contact since Wednesday’s devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa that later swept into the Trishuli.
Three of her sisters and another brother have also joined the search. Shivaram and his friend Manish Khadka have been out of contact since Wednesday morning. Shivaram drove a cargo container, while Manish drove a tourist bus.
Sonia said Manish’s wife has also been worried since he lost contact. Their families have formed groups to search hospitals and check lists of injured and missing people released by the government. Relatives in Chitwan have also been asked to search around the Narayani River.
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The families are still hoping that Shivaram and Manish may have been rescued by the army.
“As long as they are not found, there is still hope,” Sonia said.
The last location shown by their mobile phones was Timure.
Like Sonia, Lokmaya Yonjan of Kathmandu was also at the Trauma Center on Friday, searching for a missing family member. She and her group have been looking for her 35-year-old son-in-law, Som Bahadur Tamang of Sindhupalchok, who has been missing since Wednesday.
Som Bahadur had contacted his family from Syafrubesi on Tuesday and told them that he would reach Kerung early Wednesday morning. He has not been in contact since the flood.
His family has been searching for him at hospitals in Kathmandu. Som Bahadur has a wife and a child.
He had previously driven vehicles on the Birgunj-Raxaul route but had started driving a vehicle transporting goods from Kerung in recent months. Lokmaya said six people had travelled towards Kerung with him, but only one has since made contact.
Ganesh Ghatani of Bhotekoshi-2, Sindhupalchok, was also at the Trauma Center on Friday searching for relatives. He has been looking for Dil Bahadur Lamkane and Shyam Lamkane, who have been out of contact since the flood.
Ganesh and others also searched Bir Hospital and Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital but have yet to learn what happened to their relatives.
Like Ganesh, many families remain exhausted and anxious as they continue searching for loved ones whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Ganesh and others involved in the search said 75 people from Sindhupalchok remain out of contact.
