An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devighat, Bidur Municipality, along the confluence of the Trishuli and Tadi rivers in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026.
Image: Prabin Ranabhat / AFP
South African High Commissioner to India (and Nepal and Bangladesh) Professor Anil Sooklal on Tuesday said that difficult terrain in flood-hit Nepal was making search and recovery efforts difficult as emergency workers try to locate the missing, including six South Africans.
A flood in the Himalayan region of Nepal and China has caused widespread devastation, resulting in more than 1 000 bodies being recovered and thousands missing, including tourists, pilgrims, and hydropower workers.
The international community has mobilised to provide humanitarian support, with millions in pledges of aid coming from various countries and organisations.
Six South African citizens - Surendranath Maharaj, 74, and his wife, Anita Devi Maharaj, 67, Vivaganathan “Tony” Pillay, 66, and his wife, Janet Pillay, 56, Bavila Ramjee, 43, and Terricia Govender, 33 - remain missing.
Sooklal said they have been liaising daily with Pradeep Kumar Shrestha, the Honorary Consul of South Africa to Nepal, to try and get information from the Nepalese authorities about the six South Africans.
“We understand the pain and anguish that the families in South Africa are undergoing, but we want to give the reassurance, both from the side of the High Commission and through the office of our honorary consul, that we have been in direct contact with the Nepalese High Commission here in Delhi as well, to constantly try and see if we can get information about the six South Africans,” Sooklal said.
“I’m in touch with our consular services in Pretoria, who are also in touch with the families.”
Sooklal said the difficulty of the terrain was hampering efforts to try to locate the missing with bodies found as far as the neighbouring state of Bihar in the Brahmaputra River.
“It’s a difficult situation, but at the same time, one has to be sensitive to the pain and suffering of the families that have loved ones missing.”
Sooklal said the Nepalese government designated the entire zone as restricted, limiting access to rescue operations other than its own security forces.
“It was only on Saturday that the Nepalese Foreign Minister announced that they were allowing four friendly countries (India, China, Australia and South Korea), to come and assist with rescue operations,” Sooklal said.
He said many non-governmental organisations from the international community, including South Africa's Gift of the Givers, have made overtures to offer assistance in the search and rescue efforts, however the Nepalese government has thus far indicated that it will only deal directly at a government-to-government level.
“In terms of assisting directly in this area where the flooding took place, the Rasuwagadhi Tibet-Nepal border, that is highly restricted. Even our own honorary consul and the staff that he has deployed there don’t have direct access to the area. They are in the vicinity, and they constantly keeping us informed,” Sooklal said.
He said South Africans were keen to provide some sort of relief and assistance and the best route is to contribute to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.
Sooklal added that Nepal is a small country, but during the period of South Africa's anti-apartheid Struggle, Nepal served as the vice chair of the United Nations anti-apartheid committee for several years.
He said Nepal supported South Africa’s Struggle for democracy and freedom.
