Indians Based in U.S., UK and Canada Missing After Nepal Flash Floods; Families Seek Help

New Delhi — Several Indians based in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada remain missing after devastating flash floods struck Nepal during their Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, prompting their families to appeal to Indian and Nepalese authorities for help.

A family in Surat, Gujarat, said it lost contact with three relatives — a son who works as an engineer in Florida, his wife and his sister — after they traveled to Nepal for the pilgrimage.

Their mother, Sushila Patel, said the group left for Nepal on Aug. 23 and was scheduled to continue toward Mansarovar on Aug. 25.

“My son, daughter-in-law, and daughter went to Nepal on August 23 and were scheduled to leave for Mansarovar on the 25th,” Patel said.

She said the family’s last conversation took place after the travelers had completed immigration formalities and were preparing to enter China.

“During the last conversation that we had, they told me that their immigration was completed and that they won’t be able to talk to me after this, as they were entering China,” she said. “Since we saw the news of the tragedy, we have been calling people to know about their whereabouts. My son-in-law, who stays in Mumbai, also said that they are unreachable.”

The family has asked authorities for information about the missing relatives.

In Chhattisgarh, BJP leader Karta Ram Gupta’s daughter, Dr. Meena Gupta, a UK-based physician, was also reported missing. She was traveling with a 77-member group organized by Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation and was returning from Kailash Mansarovar when contact was lost.

Her brother-in-law said the family had spoken with her by video during her pilgrimage and that she last spoke to her father on Aug. 25.

“We even spoke to her on a video call during her ‘darshan’ at the Kailash Mansarovar,” he said.

Family members said they were told she was at an immigration office when the floods struck.

“I appeal to the Indian and Nepalese authorities to provide any possible details about her at the earliest,” her sister, Mamta Mittal, said.

Another member of the Isha Foundation group, Swati Bagrecha of Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, was also reported missing following the floods near the China-Tibet border.

Her brother, Dr. Prashant Bagrecha, said she had traveled to India from Canada on Aug. 8 before beginning the pilgrimage.

“She had come to India from Canada on August 8 and after that undertook the journey to Nepal, towards Mount Kailash,” he said.

He said Bagrecha reached an immigration office at about 9 a.m. while returning from the pilgrimage and was last contacted at approximately 9:05 a.m., shortly before the flash floods hit.

Prashant Bagrecha said he had spoken with Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and that efforts were underway to obtain information.

Sandeep Kumar Garai, a resident of Purba Bardhaman in West Bengal, has also been out of contact since Wednesday morning following the floods.

His wife, Tithi Garai, said she had received no meaningful information from local authorities despite approaching police and other officials.

“The administration hasn’t helped me at all till now. I am not getting any news. What is the administration doing?” she said. “Yesterday I went and filed a report at the police station, and even at the SDO office. They haven’t provided any help till now.”

She said police had contacted her seeking documents but had not provided an update on her husband’s whereabouts. (Source: IANS)