At least 17 people from Gujarat, including 14 foreign nationals, are missing or uncontactable in Nepal following devastating flash floods, Gujarat Relief Commissioner Gaurang Makwana said on Thursday.
Most of those reported missing were travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra, officials said.
The missing or uncontactable people are from Gandhinagar (4), Surat (3), Kheda (3), Anand (2), Vadodara (2), and one each from Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Valsad and Amreli. Most of them were travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra, including via the Kerung/Kyirong route, officials said.
The flash floods have affected areas around the Bhote Koshi River and the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border, where several pilgrims were travelling. Officials have been trying to establish contact with those stranded or unaccounted for.
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Nine of those identified in the individual records are US citizens, two are Canadian citizens, two are New Zealand citizens of Indian origin and one is an Australian citizen.
Among those missing is an NRI couple from Anand, Bimalkumar Patel, 46, and his wife Jaiminaben Patel, who travelled to Nepal on August 16 for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra. They were last contacted on Wednesday morning.
Bimalkumar’s brother told media persons that the couple had left their 12-year-old son with him in Anand. “The 12-year-old son doesn’t know what happened to his parents,” he said. The family has approached the local MLA, MP and district collector seeking help to locate the couple.
Two Vadodara residents travelling with Richa Tours via Kerung were last contacted at 4.51 am on Wednesday. Both are New Zealand citizens of Indian origin.
An Ahmedabad resident travelling with Samrat Tours and Travells for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra was last contacted around 8.30 am on Wednesday while he was about to reach the China border immigration centre, officials said.
Three people from Surat travelling with Richa Tours Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra have been uncontactable for more than 24 hours. Two reside in the US and one in Mumbai, officials said.
A family of three from Kheda, including two Canadian citizens and one US citizen, travelled from Delhi to Nepal by flight on August 25 and has not been reachable since, officials said.
In Gandhinagar, an Australian citizen travelling via Kyirong was last contacted at 5 am on Wednesday. Three US citizens are also listed near the Bagmati area close to the Friendship Bridge, while an Amreli resident and US citizen is among those uncontactable.
A Rajkot native residing in Mumbai was also reported uncontactable near the Friendship Bridge and Bhote Koshi River. Valsad resident Roma Dilipbhai Intwala, who was initially inclu
