A British aid worker said authorities in Nepal mistook him for a survivor of the devastating flash floods that hit the country last week and wrongly announced that he had been rescued.
Former Gloucester councillor Alastair Chambers, 45, told the Press Association the mix-up happened when he returned to the capital Kathmandu on a humanitarian aid flight after volunteering in a remote village.
Nepali officials had announced on Tuesday that a British man had been rescued from the Rasuwa region of the country.
In a statement on Facebook, the Nepali Army said 119 people, including a British citizen, had been rescued through the use of air resources.
A UK Rapid Deployment Team is now in Nepal to support British nationals and their families affected by the devastating flooding.
British nationals who need assistance should call:đ Nepal: +977 (0) 1423 7100đ China: +86 (0) 10 5192 4000đ UK: +44 (0) 20 7008 5000 pic.twitter.com/8bHdxdeiLF
â Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) August 29, 2026
But Mr Chambers said he travelled to the area to help with relief efforts and had not been saved as part of the rescue mission.
After spending several days in a village near the Trishuli river in central Nepal, Mr Chambers flew back to the countryâs capital in a humanitarian aid helicopter.
He told PA: âI got in the helicopter, the humanitarian aid helicopter, and I got dropped off at the army barracks, and when I got dropped off one of the police officers came up to me and asked for my details.
âThen they presumed that Iâd been rescued. Itâs been a bit of a weird one, really.
âI gave them my details, just abiding by the rules, and they obviously thought that Iâd been rescued.
âNews spreads â I was contacted by about 15 different journalists in the last few hours, just asking how I was and how Iâm feeling after being rescued, and I had to say: âWell sorry, I havenât been rescued.’â
âI thought they seemed very happy when I arrived,â he added.
Mr Chambers flew to Nepal last week after seeing the devastation wreaked by the floods on the news.
Together with other volunteers, he distributed sleeping bags, water purification tools, food and essentials to communities cut off by collapsed bridges, travelling to the area by helicopter.
Mr Chambers said: âItâs quite dangerous, and weâve got a lot of landslides, trees across the roads in front of us.
âTo take a journey that should take about one and a half hours, took about eight or nine hours in the end.
âWe made our way there and then had a flood scare first thing in the morning.
âWeâd been told that the floods were coming again⊠so we made our way up the mountain.
âThankfully, it wasnât large as the other torrent of water, so we waited until that settled and then made our way down and helped locate bodies and deliver humanitarian aid for the last few days.
âItâs been quite challenging, but itâs been very rewarding as well.â
Mr Chambers plans to fly back to the UK to raise money for the devastated village before returning with essentials and to set up solar powered lighting.
On Tuesday, Foreign Office minister Lord Wood of Anfield told the House of Lords that 36 British people are currently unaccounted for, up from the previous total of 33.
Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Baroness Winterton, will visit Nepalâs capital Kathmandu from Wednesday to Thursday to discuss support for recovery efforts, the Foreign Office said.
During her visit, Baroness Winterton will meet Nepali and UN officials, as well as embassy staff and members of the UKâs rapid deployment team, which is supporting the families of British nationals.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty will meet members of the British-Nepali community in London on Wednesday, to discuss the support available for those affected.
The UK Government has promised ÂŁ5 million of humanitarian support support for relief and recovery efforts.
Nepal Police said on Wednesday the confirmed death toll had reached 1,127.
