MFA: Tourist feared missing in Nepal is in Kazakhstan

"According to the Nepalese side, the search and rescue operation in Nepal officially ended on October 5. Recovery efforts are now underway in the affected areas, where remains and personal belongings are being handed over for subsequent identification," the Kazakh MFA's official spokesperson said.

"In China's Tibet Autonomous Region, the search continues in the worst-hit Gyirong County. The Chinese side is simultaneously conducting identification of remains and genetic testing."

Previously, three Kazakhstani tourists had been listed as missing: two in Nepal and one in Tibet. The ministry established contact with one of them, who was believed to be in Nepal. It turned out that she had canceled her trip to the disaster zone. She is now in Kazakhstan.

The whereabouts of the other two Kazakh women remain unknown. Their relatives have completed the necessary procedures for possible identification, including providing biological material for DNA analysis in line with procedures set by the competent authorities of Nepal and China.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan is monitoring the situation involving Kazakhstan citizens caught in the disaster zone in Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Kazakh diplomats are in contact with the families of the missing and are assisting them," Zhanbolat Ussenov added.

Earlier, it was reported that the families of thousands of people who remain missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is stopping the search for victims. Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of at least 1,455 people, but 5,285 others remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners.