Funerals in Nepal for missing, a week after deadly floods
Relatives mourn during symbolic funerals held for flood victims still reported missing as they cremate Kush grass effigies in accordance with Nepali Hindu rites at Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu on September 2, 2026. (AFP Photo)
Nepali families held symbolic funerals on Sept. 2 to “liberate the souls” of relatives missing since deadly flash floods swept away their villages and homes in the Himalayan region on Aug. 26.
Emergency teams have recovered more than 1,100 bodies, and nearly 4,500 people are missing after the gigantic wave of freezing water, rocks and debris triggered by a high-altitude glacial collapse roared down the China-Nepal border on Aug. 26.
After days of searching shelters and mortuaries, relatives of some of the missing lost hope and began conducting last rites, burning straw effigies in Hindu rituals.
