Key facts
- At least 41 Australians are among nearly 2,500 people reported missing after floods and landslides in Nepal.
- The missing include members of tour groups, pilgrims, and trekkers.
- Fifteen Australians were part of the Himalayan Glacier tour group heading to Mount Kailash.
- Six Australians are unaccounted for from a Kailash Journeys tour.
- Eleven Australians travelling with the Isha Foundation are missing after an immigration building at the Gyirong border crossing was hit by floods.
At least 41 Australians are among nearly 2,500 people reported missing following devastating flash floods and landslides that struck valleys on the Nepal-Tibet border. The disaster has affected an estimated 93,000 people, according to the Red Cross.
Fifteen Australians, primarily from Sydney's Australia Bharatha Brahmin Samaj community, were part of a pilgrimage with the Himalayan Glacier tour group to Mount Kailash. Among those unaccounted for are couples Venkatraman Balakrishnan and Chitra Venkatraman, Sreedharan and Lakshmi Iyer, and their adult sons Rishab and Rudhra Iyer, who are medical students at the University of Newcastle. A family of four, Shylaja and Chandrasekaran Muralitharan and their sons Ashwin and Aarush, are also missing from this group.
Six Australians are missing from a tour group organized by Kailash Journeys. This group includes Karan Bhardwaj, a member of the Royal Australian Air Force based in Brisbane.
Narayan Panthi, from Brisbane, is also listed as missing. He was reportedly engaged in independent volunteer charity work in Kathmandu before travelling towards the affected border region.
Additionally, eleven Australians travelling with the Isha Foundation are missing. They were inside an immigration building at the Gyirong border crossing when the floods hit. Among them is Sumi Adhikari, whose husband has travelled to Nepal to seek information. Bharat Mangwani, 42, is also missing from this group while on a pilgrimage to Lake Manasarovar.
Family members of the missing have expressed deep concern and are holding onto hope for their safe return, with some travelling to Nepal and India to search for information.