Searches are under way for Britons in Nepal who have not been heard from since a powerful earthquake shook the country on Saturday.
The Foreign Office has said it has received no reports of British nationals dead or injured in the earthquake or its aftershocks, but there are dozens of Britons listed as missing on a website set up by an aid agency.
Teams of consular staff in the country have been scouring hospitals and popular tourist hotspots, looking for British nationals who may need assistance. Several hundred are thought to be in Nepal.
Relatives desperate for news of loved ones, as well as people in the country who want to let others know they are alive, have been posting their details on a website set up by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Many of those listed as missing were believed to be on wilderness treks in the Himalayas, or even about to take on Everest, the world’s highest mountain. Everest base camp was among the locations hit by avalanches in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Nepal was shaken by its worst earthquake in more than 80 years on Saturday night, which was followed by a second smaller aftershock on Sunday. The confirmed death toll was on Monday estimated to have risen to more than 3,700, with more than 6,500 injured.
Thousands more have been left sleeping in the open in the mountainous country while rescue teams fight against time to rescue anyone still alive but trapped beneath the rubble.
The death toll is expected to rise, with reports received so far by the government and aid agencies suggesting that many mountain communities are devastated or struggling to cope.
A Foreign Office spokesman said it was unlikely the department would publish a list of missing Britons for a while, since damaged communications links made it difficult to work out what was happening in Nepal.
The foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said on Sunday evening that about 200 Britons had been given practical help by embassy staff, who were set to be reinforced by additional diplomats from London and Delhi.
Hammond said: “There are several hundred British nationals in Nepal at this time of year and we expect that almost certainly some will have been caught up in the earthquakes. But at this moment we have no reports of any British nationals killed or injured.
“British embassy staff are on the ground and have provided practical help to around 200 British nationals. Teams of consular staff have also been out scouring hospitals, hotels and areas popular with tourists looking for British nationals who may need assistance.
“Damage to communications infrastructure caused by the earthquakes is making it difficult to contact people who may have been trekking in remote areas so it may be some time before we, working with the tour companies, are able to identify who is in Nepal and to account for them.
“The Foreign Office is urgently deploying additional consular response teams from London and Delhi to reinforce our embassy staff and looking at what else we can do. In the meantime, my colleague, Justine Greening, chaired a Cobra meeting in London this afternoon and DFiD is providing £5m of humanitarian aid for Nepal.”
