'No matter how far away she is, I will bring her home': Husband searches for wife missing in Nepal disaster

KATHMANDU: The last time Chinese national Guan Daoxuan spoke to his wife was the night before deadly flash floods and landslides struck communities along the Nepal-Tibet border.

A day later, he could no longer reach her.

“We were just talking about ordinary things at home,” Guan told CNA. “But the next day, after I learned about the mudslide, I tried contacting her again. There was no response.”

His wife, Chinese national Li Lisha, 37, was working on a highway project in Nepal near the Gyirong border checkpoint when disaster struck.

Gyirong is a key Belt and Road corridor linking China and Nepal, with several Chinese infrastructure projects operating across the border. Many of those missing were working at these sites.

Guan had visited the project site before and initially believed its location on relatively high ground might have spared it from the worst of the flooding.

But as his calls continued to go unanswered, the 38-year-old realised “something was seriously wrong”.

A DESPERATE SEARCH

Guan first tried to reach his wife from Tibet – flying to Shigatse before travelling by road towards Gyirong. But access had been cut off.

He eventually flew to Nepal instead.

He has been in contact with the Chinese embassy in Nepal since disaster struck. 

Since arriving, Guan has searched six hospitals and shelters around Kathmandu for any sign of his wife. So far, he has found none.

For days, he also tried to shield their nine-year-old son and his wife’s parents from the full extent of what had happened.

“I didn't tell them what I was going to do. I just said I had something urgent to attend to,” he said.

“I didn't dare tell my mother-in-law that the road was sealed off. I just told them I had arrived and that the Chinese rescue efforts were progressing smoothly, just to reassure them. But I can no longer hide the truth.”

A video Guan obtained of his wife’s workplace only deepened his fears. It showed the river shifting course and eroding part of the project site, destroying the workers’ camp.

“From this video, we have a bad feeling. But as family members, we still need answers to account to the family,” he said. 

WAITING FOR ANSWERS

Guan is among many loved ones desperately awaiting news of thousands who are still missing after the disaster.

Around 100 Chinese nationals remain unaccounted for on the Nepali side of the border.

Guan’s search has also expanded beyond his own family. He has been helping relatives of his wife’s missing colleagues, including those travelling from China to Nepal to begin their own searches.

The families of 24 workers missing from Li’s project have also written to authorities in Tibet, appealing to China and Nepal to do everything possible to find them.

Chinese officials say they are providing emergency aid and technical support, and working with Nepal to search for the missing.

Amid the uncertainty, Guan remains determined to bring his wife home.

"I want to tell her that no matter how far away she is, I will bring her home. Whether she is dead or alive, she has to come home with me," he said.

"As we Chinese say, ‘If she is alive, I want to see her. If she is dead, I want to see her body.’"