On motorbikes, four friends search for their missing mate in Nepal

A seven-hour drive through winding mountain passages was the latest stretch of a six-day search for answers for these four friends.On two motorbikes, they have made their way to a city on the Narayani River. Its waters usually bring life to the Chitwan Valley in Nepal, but for the past week, it has brought death.Warning: This story contains images that some readers may find distressing.Bodies have been carried downstream from the catastrophic flooding on the border with Tibet.Dozens of Nepali Army personnel have arrived to retrieve the dead, along with people from across Nepal who are desperate for answers. Sunil BK, Sudip Mangrati, Indra Bahadur Pul and Shivhari are refusing to give up hope.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)Among them are Sunil BK, Sudip Mangrati, Indra Bahadur Pul, and Shivhari, who are searching for their friend, Rajesh Khatri, one of almost 4,000 people still missing a week after the disaster."On the first day we thought, maybe he might call us. We just waited," Sunil said."But after 24 hours we were very scared, so on the second day we started to search."The group has clocked up hundreds of kilometres across Nepal. They went in and out of the flood zone, to hospitals, army barracks and police stations before arriving in Chitwan."The journey was very hard; the roads are not good, and we are just hoping to find more information," Sunil said. Friends search for a missing Nepali man on their motorbikes.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) Two Nepali men search for their missing friend.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) Sunil BK, Sudip Mangrati, Indra Bahadur Pul and Shivhari are searching for their missing friend, Rajesh, in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)Missing man is a father of twoOn the day the disaster struck, 42-year-old Rajesh Khatri was leading a tour group. Rajesh Khatri, 42, is a father and a tourist car driver.(Supplied)He was on Betrawati Bridge when a colleague called to say the flood was coming."And he said, 'Yeah, I'm just on the safe side; the police have also stopped us; we are just waiting here,' he just said like that," Sunil says.But when the colleague tried to call back, there was no answer, and Rajesh has not been heard from since.The flood destroyed the bridge.Rajesh's friends believe he can be seen in a social media video showing people standing on part of the bridge as it surges away."This one, this one, this one," Sunil says, pointing at a figure in the video on his screen.He says the friends are "90 per cent" sure it is Rajesh, based on how the person walks and holds himself."We just showed it to the family members also, and they were also convinced," Sunil says.The friends have also found a photo of Rajesh's car covered in mud and debris. The windows are smashed, but the number plate is clearly visible. Rajesh Khatri has not been heard from by his friends or family since the disaster in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)Getting any more information is incredibly difficult.Rajesh has two children — a 13-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son. His family is too distraught to search for information themselves."We are standing together, for them," Sudip says.The friends have not given up hope of finding him alive, but it is hard to avoid thinking about the alternative here in Chitwan, more than 100 kilometres from the disaster zone. The Chitwan district of Bharatpur lies downstream from the floodwater.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)'No rest and relief': Army vows to continue search Nepali rescue workers search a river in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) A body is carried out of the river in the Chitwan district of Bharatpur.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) Bodies pulled from the river in the Chitwan district of Bharatpur.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) A line of blue tarped bodies in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)At least 321 of the 1,050 bodies that have been recovered in Nepal have been found in Chitwan.At sunrise on the banks of the Narayani River, Nepali Army personnel load rubber boats into the water for a retrieval mission.They return to the bank with 10 bodies. Major Bhimsen Devkota has been paddling the river and pulling out bodies for days.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)The soldiers have been paddling along the river and pulling out bodies and remains for days, and there is much work ahead."There is no rest and relief; we will continue our efforts," Major Bhimsen Devkota says."You are trying to say [to] me that I'm tired, but I'm not. We will continue the search." Nepali search and rescue search for flood victims.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) Nepali volunteers gather around the river in the Chitwan district of Bharatpur.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) Nepali soldiers involved in search and rescue efforts.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)The remains they recover are being taken to Bharatpur Hospital, which was receiving 90 to 100 bodies a day in the immediate aftermath of the disaster."It was very difficult, to be quite honest," forensic expert Kashyap Shrestha says."Difficult not just in the sense of us working — it was kind of overwhelming, as well, seeing such a huge number of dead bodies." Kashyap Shrestha says the number of dead bodies is overwhelming.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)Dr Shrestha and his team have conducted 290 post-mortems."We do have limited resources but, in that context, we are doing the most we can with the limited resources that we have got," he says.Tarps have been strung up outside the mortuary area to extend its size, and a temporary storage facility has been set up, but it is not enough. Two Nepalese volunteers take a break in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) Post mortem kits in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) A family member looks for Nepal flood information on a wall.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)With the bodies decomposing and space running out, mass burials have commenced."We are collecting DNA samples," Dr Shrestha says.Initially, staff were also taking fingerprints and photographs, but that is no longer possible due to the extent of the decomposition. Two Nepali workers search for bodies in the Chitwan district of Bharatpur.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) A Nepali rescue worker searches a river in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) A man holds a tarp over a river in Nepal.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)"Whatever identification markers that we can find externally, we are documenting that," Dr Shrestha says.Missing persons hub established A hub has been set up in Chitwan for people who have come to town searching for someone.(ABC News: Hamish Harty) The Nepali Government has requested international assistance for DNA testing as family members search for their missing loved ones.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)A short drive from the hospital, a hub has been set up for people searching for missing loved ones.A Red Cross team is sitting at a table under a tent outside. They have a thick binder to collect details about missing people.Sunil BK approached the staff to tell them about Rajesh and fill out a form. Rajesh Khatri's friends are on a desperate mission around Nepal to find him.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)Behind the Red Cross tent is a building in which seats are arranged around a screen showing pictures of bodies that have been recovered.People sit stony-faced, looking at the harrowing photos. A screen has been set up showing recovered bodies in case people recognise their loved ones. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)There are 160 images on rotation. Others are not being shown because the bodies are too decomposed to be recognisable.Volunteer Prabin Kafle has the job of "filtering" the images."It is distressing, but then I think about what the families are going through," he says.So far, Prabin says, 12 bodies had been recognised in the room and undergone further identification.But the four friends did not see Rajesh in any of the images."We just watched so many photographs there," Sunil says."They are so much injured, their face, their body."So it's very difficult for us also to just find our friend."During the group's visit, a large sign is strung up outside. It outlines a process for relatives to give DNA samples for matching.The Nepali government has requested international assistance for the testing. It is likely to be a long time before there are results. The men have travelled hundreds of kilometres in search of Rajesh.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)The four friends pull on their helmets and get back on their bikes, ready to return to Kathmandu to report to Rajesh's family.Sudip Mangrati can't help but worry for his friend's wife and how she will raise the two children. Rajesh Khatri has not been heard from by his friends or family since the Nepal disaster.(ABC News: Hamish Harty)"If she needs anything, I will be there for her," he said.But the friends refuse to lose hope."We are very upset then. Also we are not giving up," Sunil says."So we will surely visit more places to find more information about our friend."