One of three Dutch missing in Nepal floods found alive; two tourists still unaccounted for

The Dutch foreign office has confirmed that one of the three Dutch nationals reported missing after last week’s catastrophic floods in Nepal has been found alive. The woman, who had emigrated to Nepal, reached Kathmandu and contacted authorities on Wednesday, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Berendsen.

“There has been good news,” Berendsen told reporters during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland. “But we remain very concerned about the fate of the two other Dutch nationals.”

The two still missing are Christiaan Berghuis (29, from Nijkerk) and Maaike Moolhuijsen (51, from Haarlem). They were part of a group of 80 pilgrims travelling from Kathmandu to Mount Kailash, a sacred mountain in Tibet, when a Himalayan glacier collapsed on 26 August. The collapse sent a wall of water and mud down the Bhote Koshi river, wiping out villages in the Rawusa border region with Tibet.

The group was waiting at an immigration office at the time. A spokesman for the Isha Foundation, which organised the pilgrimage, told RTL Nieuws that the office appeared to have been inundated. “The last contact we had with our volunteer who was in charge of the group was around nine minutes before the flood happened,” the spokesman said. The foundation was set up by Indian yoga teacher Jaggi Vasudev (Sadhguru).

Over 1,100 dead, thousands missing

Nepalese authorities now report more than 1,100 deaths, with over 4,000 people still unaccounted for. The Red Cross has warned that the situation near the Trishuli River is “increasingly concerning” and that a second flood wave is possible. David Fisher, head of delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said during a press conference in Geneva that at least 93,000 people have been affected. The organisation has opened a donation line in the Netherlands: call or text 6868 to contribute. An estimated €20 million is needed for support over the coming months.

What this means for Dutch residents

If you have family or friends in Nepal who you have not been able to reach, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Buitenlandse Zaken, or BZ) has a contact centre open 24/7. You can reach them via the ministry’s website or by calling +31 247 247 247. The ministry says it is “doing everything we can to make contact and gather information with our people on the ground.”

The families of Berghuis and Moolhuijsen are being supported by Names de Familie, a Dutch organisation that assists relatives of missing persons abroad.

Travel advice

The Dutch foreign office has not issued a formal travel ban for Nepal, but advises checking the current travel advisories before any trip. The area around the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers is particularly dangerous, with roads and communication lines cut off in many places.

For expats and internationals living in the Netherlands: if you are planning a pilgrimage or trek in the Himalayas, ensure you register with the Dutch embassy in Kathmandu and share your itinerary with family. The disaster is a stark reminder that even well-organised tours can be caught in natural catastrophes.

Sources: NL Times, DutchNews.nl – woman found alive, DutchNews.nl – missing tourists