A Nepali father who had spent several years working in Malaysia rushed home after learning that his wife and 10-year-old daughter had disappeared in the devastating floods that swept through Nepal.
But after finally returning and witnessing the scale of destruction himself, his hope of finding them alive was replaced by fears that he might never even recover their bodies.
“I returned to Nepal hoping to find them alive. But after seeing the situation here, I became afraid that I might not even find their bodies,” he said in an interview with Harek News TV.
The man said his wife and two daughters had moved away from their village so the children could receive a better education.
His eldest daughter was 10, while his younger daughter was four.
On the day the disaster struck, his wife was reportedly washing clothes at home and told the two girls to walk to school on their own because she was unable to accompany them.
The four-year-old managed to reach school and escape the flood, but her mother and older sister have remained missing.
Her survival has given the father a reason to believe that his wife and eldest daughter could still be alive.
“Because my younger daughter managed to escape, I feel that my wife and eldest daughter may still be alive too,” he said.
The father repeatedly broke down while speaking about his family, saying he had no concern for money or possessions and would accept sleeping by the roadside if it meant getting his loved ones back.
“I do not need anything for myself. I am willing to sleep by the roadside and live without anything. I only want my wife and daughters back,” he said.
He was in Malaysia when the floods struck and immediately contacted his employer after learning about the disaster to arrange his return to Nepal.
Unable to travel home immediately, he asked friends and acquaintances in Nepal to help search for his family while he made arrangements to return.
Now, however, he faces a painful dilemma — continuing the search for his missing wife and eldest daughter while also caring for his four-year-old daughter, who survived the disaster.
“I do not know whether I should search for my missing wife and daughter or care for the daughter who survived,” he said, adding that the younger girl was staying with relatives while he continued searching.
He also appealed to the Nepalese authorities to speed up efforts to locate missing people and identify those who died in the disaster.
“What was once a town has now become a riverbed,” he said.
The floods struck on Aug 26 after a melting glacier collapsed near the Nepal-Tibet border, sending powerful floodwaters through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river valleys.
Entire settlements were destroyed within minutes, while damaged roads and treacherous terrain have hampered rescue teams trying to reach some of the worst-hit areas.
Despite the devastation around him, the father continues to hold on to hope that his wife and eldest daughter will be found.
