New Delhi: The Nepal flash floods have left at least 133 Indians unaccounted for, most of them believed to be pilgrims and tourists travelling to Mount Kailash in Tibet, officials said.
The list reportedly includes 77 people associated with the Isha Foundation, 38 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu and 32 members of a Kolkata-based group. Travel operators and the foundation provided details of the Indian groups, while Nepal Tourism Board spokesperson Sunil Sharma said people of Indian origin from other countries could also be among those awaiting contact with their families.
Pilgrims Stranded On Nepal Route
Regarded as a holy site in Hinduism, Mount Kailash attracts pilgrims who often choose to travel through Kathmandu. This route requires comparatively less trekking than the route originating from Dharchula in Uttarakhand, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Across the affected areas, Nepalese authorities have recorded 403 missing people, including 341 foreign nationals.
Bhasu Kumar Adhikari, managing director of Kathmandu-based Touch Kailash Tour and Travels, said 390 pilgrims were scheduled to cross into China from Nepal on Wednesday. The group included 93 Nepali pilgrims, The Kathmandu Post reported.
“Except a few, we have not been able to contact the pilgrims,” he said.
According to Sharma, visitors from a minimum of 26 countries were present in the flood-hit region. Among those reported missing were 47 US nationals, 34 Australians, 33 Britons and 24 Canadians. The death toll confirmed by Nepalese authorities has reached 160.
Isha Foundation Seeks Information
Sadhguru, head of the Isha Foundation, said 77 members of the organisation were at an immigration centre run by the Chinese government in Gyirong, Tibet, when a mudslide hit. Three volunteers were located in Timure, Nepal, he said.
“We are trying to get information about them,” he said.
Sadhguru said 21 groups had travelled to Kailash Mansarovar using the Nepal route. Of the pilgrims involved, 495 had returned, 743 were in Tibet and 148 were still in Nepal. He did not say which Indian states or foreign countries the pilgrims who remained untraceable came from.
Tami Nadu Group Separated
A group from Tamil Nadu was also caught in the floods, with 36 people feared missing. Samrat Tours and Travels had taken 57 pilgrims from different districts of the state to undertake the Kailash yatra.
The pilgrims were divided among three buses when the flash flood struck on Wednesday morning. Syed Umar Farooq, the operator’s owner, said the group heard a blast-like sound at around 9 am.
“Around 9am after a sound like an explosion, one bus managed to escape the sudden flash flood but when (passengers) turned back to see other vehicles, one bus was seen rolling down into a gorge,” Farooq told reporters.
He said there was no clarity on what happened after the bus was swept into the gorge. Security forces and rescue teams were searching for the vehicle, he added.
“It’s unclear what happened next. Authorities are currently searching for the bus with military support,” he said.
The 21 passengers travelling in the bus that escaped were later taken to an Armed Police Force outpost in Timure, about 160 km from Kathmandu, Farooq said.
Passengers in the other two buses could not be traced. Farooq’s son was among those travelling in the group whose status was unknown.
“We hope they are safe”, he said.
The Tamil Nadu government has set up a helpline that will operate round the clock for the families of the pilgrims. Assistance is also being channelled through Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi.
Chief minister C Joseph Vijay said senior officials posted in Delhi had been instructed to coordinate rescue operations and provide support to the relatives of those missing.
Kerala Group Safe
The Kerala government said 36 people from the state who were touring Nepal were safe and had stayed away from the flood-affected locations.
Chief Minister V D Satheesan said a helpdesk had been opened through a state-run agency to assist Malayalis affected by the floods. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority asked people to pass on information about Malayalis who might have been affected by calling 1070.
Kolkata Pilgrims Remain Unreachable
A group of 32 people from Kolkata left on August 21 for the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage and reached Kathmandu the following day. The group comprised 30 tourists and two travel agency employees.
The tourists were expected to cross into Tibet but could not be reached after the floods, said Dibyajyoti Basu, founder of the travel firm Cholo Jai.
“We have lost contact with them after the flood. There were 30 tourists and two of our staff. They were supposed to enter Tibet today. We have been trying to contact them since morning,” he told Hindustan Times.
Dr Milind P Chitlay, a Mumbai doctor and mountaineer who co-founded Hills and Trails, was also among those whose whereabouts could not be confirmed.
Friends, associates and members of Mumbai’s trekking community said attempts to contact him had been unsuccessful. They were yet to receive any information confirming that he was safe.