Ukrainian refugee missing after Nepal floods

A woman who came to the UK as a Ukrainian refugee is thought to have been caught up in devastating flooding at the Nepal-Tibet border.

Iryna Kripak, 34, was travelling in the Himalayas, working for a travel company as a photographer, and is thought to have been near the border when the disaster struck on 26 August, leaving more than 1,000 dead and thousands more missing.

Kripak's friend Sara Braker, from Hadlow Down near Uckfield in East Sussex, said she last spoke to her at about 07:00 local time on the morning of the floods.

"It was all about how beautiful and amazing the Himalayas were," she said. "She said 'we are just coming up to the border in about an hour.'"

The Ukrainian embassy in the UK has confirmed Iryna has been reported missing.

Sara said Iryna's Find My Friends location-sharing app had remained in one place after the disaster.

"Everyone on the tour, all the phones were off within about 30 seconds to two minutes of each other," she said.

She said she still hoped Iryna could be found alive, adding: "There's always hope that some miracle has happened."

The two women met at a distribution centre on the Polish border in 2022, after Hadlow Down villagers sent aid to Ukraine.

Iryna, who grew up in Ukraine's third-biggest city, Odesa, and studied in Kyiv, moved to Sussex that year, where she was hosted by Sara under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

She often visited her family in Odesa and joked on returning to the Sussex cottage next to a farm, "after the war, this is sheep therapy".

"She wasn't just a lodger," Sara said. "She was part of our family. She was joyous, kind, terribly untidy in the kitchen, a beautiful human. I'm missing her very much."

She said she hoped Iryna could have survived on a hillside, but added: "In the absence of Iryna being alive, I would like her body to go back to Ukraine for her mum."

Sara has contacted the the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for help in finding Iryna but said she was told the UK "cannot offer consular assistance", because she is a Ukraine national.

But she said Ukraine was at war and British officials could help.

The FCDO said its consular services were provided to British nationals overseas and directed inquiries about Iryna's case to the Ukrainian authorities.

Iryna's family have contacted the Ukraine authorities and provided DNA, Sara said.

The Ukrainian embassy confirmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine was aware of the case, adding that Iryna's name had been included among Ukrainian citizens reported missing.

The embassy said it had received inquiries from her family and a British citizen.

A spokesperson said: "The case remains under close attention.

"The MFA is currently awaiting further updates on the situation from the embassies of Ukraine in India and the People's Republic of China."

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