MUMBAI: The 66 members of Dr Milind Chitaley’s Hills and Trails group — 22 in each of the three buses operated by Nepal-based Richa Tours and Travels — remain untraced, leaving families across Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, and Pune clinging to fragments of information and hope.Having completed immigration formalities at 8.45am Wednesday, the three buses were waiting a little ahead of Timure immigration centre on the Nepal-China border for the gates on the Chinese side to open. They were minutes away from proceeding uphill towards Kerung, about 35km ahead, on their Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage when a massive flash flood swept through Timure, destroying the immigration complex and surrounding infrastructure.Avinash Mohagaonkar, Nagpur-based schoolmate of Mumbai pilgrims Dr Anand Deshpande, his wife Gayatri, Satish Patankar, his wife Rekha, and Sunil Subhedar, said he had received a message around 8.45am confirming that Subhedar’s immigration formalities had been completed. “Their immigration was at 8.45am in Timure, around 15 minutes before the flash flood hit them,” Mohagaonkar told TOI. “If all of them completed immigration together, they would have already boarded their buses and moved further uphill, which gives us hope that they might be safe. But if they were delayed or stranded at the border building, they may have been caught in the flash flood.”For Goregaon resident C G Ramkrishnan, the last conversation with his sister Meenakshi Subramanian, 60, and brother-in-law Venkat Subramanian, 67, is etched in his mind. The Kandivli couple told him they were inside their bus, waiting for the Chinese authorities to open the border gates. “The buses were waiting ahead of the Timure immigration office. They were to proceed to Kerung. Richa Tours later told us that an aerial assessment by military authorities showed Timure to be among the worst-affected areas. They said devastation is so extensive that immediate rescue is difficult,” Ramkrishnan said.Another family is holding on to an equally precious last contact. Apoorva Jalindre said she spoke to her mother, Geeta Jalindre, 66, a retired principal, the night before the disaster. Geeta had complained of acidity, which Apoorva said was common during high-altitude travel, and was taking medication. She was travelling with her niece Manisha Pawar, 50, an LIC employee. Apoorva, herself an Everest Base Camp trekker, said Manisha had done Annapurna Base Camp treks and that she was happy that an experienced person was with her mother.“An onsite assessment by the Nepal Mountaineering Association Rescue Team on Friday found that 644 people — 517 foreign nationals, including Indian nationals, and 127 Nepali nationals — were at Rasuwagadhi immigration facility when the flash flood struck. Dr Milind Chitley’s Hills and Trails group was exactly at the immigration centre at the time. Based on the onsite assessment, helicopter aerial reconnaissance and video footage, yatris at the facility appear to have been severely affected. The situation remains extremely critical. No one has so far been rescued or evacuated from the disaster site. Chinese rescue teams, the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Nepal Mountaineering Association continue search operations,” said Charuhas Joshi of Hills and Trails and Sangay Gurang of Richa Treks, Kathmandu, in their joint statement.The flood, which devastated Nepal’s Rasuwa district and adjoining Tibet, has swept away roads, bridges, settlements and border infrastructure. Rescue operations have been repeatedly hampered by difficult terrain, damaged communication networks and the risk of further flooding. Latest reports put the death toll in Nepal and Tibet at more than 550, with hundreds still missing.More than 100 Indian nationals have been among those reported missing or uncontactable, many of them Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims. Maharashtra authorities have also been coordinating efforts to trace tourists from the state.
