New Delhi: More than 1,300 people are reported missing after catastrophic flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border region Wednesday, with hundreds of foreign tourists still unaccounted for. At least 300 Indians are currently reported missing in Nepal, according to Nepal Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal; many are believed to be pilgrims travelling to Manasarovar.
“I spoke to my father the day before yesterday. Since yesterday, I have been trying to get any information about him. I have been calling people who travelled with him, going to offices, and speaking to officials,” said Mumbai-based Swanand Subhedar, whose 68-year-old retired father, Sunil Subhedar, is among a group of around 60 travellers whose whereabouts remain unclear.
The disaster has turned a major pilgrimage and tourist corridor into a search zone. For the families in India, tracing loved ones involves piecing together information from tour operators, officials, and the few phone calls that still get through.
Subhedar said his father travelled with a group of around 60 people on a Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage organised by the Mumbai-based Hills and Trails travel agency.
He said the District Collector’s office had contacted him, and he shared all the information he had about his father and the group. In the morning, he said, he passed the relevant information to the State Disaster Management helpline.
“But there are updates yet to come. The District Collector’s office has a list, and officials have confirmed that 37 of the roughly 60 travellers have safely reached their destination, but we do not yet know what has happened to the others,” he said.
‘Was planning the trip for 6 months’
The group left on Sunday, with Subhedar’s father travelling alongside three to four friends. A doctor from Mumbai was also among the travellers.
“I spoke to them the day before yesterday. But a common friend of my dad in Mumbai received a message that they were at Chinese Immigration around 8:30 pm,” said Subhedar.
Since then, he has been unable to establish contact with any member of the group. He said he tried calling the people travelling with his father, but none could be reached.
Subhedar’s father, a retired employee of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), had spent months preparing for the pilgrimage.
“He has been planning the trip for six to eight months. After that, he has done everything,” Subhedar said.
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‘Sent a team to Kathmandu’
A separate group of 32 tourists from Kolkata who travelled to Nepal through Chalo Jai Travel Club for a Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage has also been out of contact following the floods.
The group was accompanied by two managers from the travel agency, whose whereabouts remain unclear.
“The agency has been unable to contact any of the 32 travellers and has sent a team to Kathmandu to try to locate the group and assess what can be done,” said a company spokesperson.
The 32-member group reached Kathmandu on 22 August and was scheduled to cross into Tibet through the Rasuwagadhi border on Wednesday morning. The group was at the immigration office at around 8.30 am when the flash flood struck, after which all communication was lost.
The agency is now trying to trace the travellers through local authorities and other channels, as families wait for confirmation about their safety.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)