Floods in Nepal: Latvia Says Hope Remains for Missing Citizens

Latvia is still waiting for news of 33 Latvian and two Estonian citizens who were trapped in Nepal after widespread landslides and floods struck Nepal and Tibet. A week after the disaster, their fate remains unknown.

Edīte Medne, director of the Latvian Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department, said officials were receiving information about other people who had survived and finally contacted relatives. The region has limited mobile coverage, she said, making communication difficult. Reports had come from Australia and Canada.

“Hope still remains, although, of course, time is not our ally,” Medne said. Latvia is working with Canada, which has sent personnel to Nepal, and with Nepal’s national police. A Latvian consular representative in Nepal was due to meet Canadian officials and Nepalese police to coordinate the countries’ police work and speed up the exchange of data.

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Hope still remains, although, of course, time is not our ally.

The representative also visited Nepal’s Foreign Ministry to discuss further support and met with a Ukrainian representative. Ukraine has 56 people reported missing. “We are working together with all the parties involved,” Medne said.

The Latvian Foreign Ministry has submitted a request to the government for 100,000 euros to help Nepal deal with the consequences of the floods.

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We are working together with all the parties involved.