Kolkata/Burdwan: A casual scroll through social media brought a glimmer of hope to a sleepless family on Thursday morning when a video showing a woman being rescued by volunteers in Nepal appeared to resemble one of the 35 tourists from Bengal who have been missing since the disaster. But hours later, the family was still waiting for official confirmation.Kaikhali resident Debasis Thakur said his wife spotted the video on YouTube while searching for updates and identified the woman as their friend Moushumi Ganguly (53), who had travelled to Nepal with her husband Arindam Ganguly (61).“My wife and I were awake all night waiting for updates. In the morning, she saw a YouTube video. The video shows the rescue operation and it shows a woman being rescued who resembles Moushumi,” Thakur said.He immediately contacted Moushumi’s daughter Ankita, who lives in Bengaluru, and the travel agency Chalo Jaai, through which the couple had booked the trip. The agency, he said, told them its team had reached the affected area and was providing updates.However, Ankita said there had been no communication with her parents since she last spoke to Moushumi a day before the disaster. “After that, there has been no communication with my parents,” she said.She also said reports claiming that her mother had been rescued were false. “We have contacted the West Bengal Police, but so far we have not received any information about my parents,” Ankita said, adding that the travel company had not provided adequate cooperation to the family.Moushumi and Arindam, residents of Tapaban City near Bamunara in Kanksa, West Burdwan, had been looking forward to the Nepal trip. Their neighbour Goutam Adhikari said the couple lived in Tower 52, Flat 9D, and had been extremely excited about the journey.“Arindam and his wife stay above our flat. His wife was seen in a video footage. We are praying that both of them be fine. They were extremely excited about the trip. They considered it a lifetime achievement. They were spending Rs 3 lakh per head for the trip,” Adhikari said.Arindam’s friend Anup Banerjee said the two had known each other and worked together for nearly 35 years. Arindam retired in Feb 2025 after working as assistant controller at Damodar Valley Corporation’s Mejia Thermal Power Station in Bankura.The couple originally hailed from Purulia. Banerjee recalled that Moushumi had visited his home before leaving for Nepal and handed his wife some jaggery, asking her to keep it in their refrigerator as she expected to be away on the trip.Moushumi was also interested in share trading and mutual funds and enjoyed decorating the couple’s balcony with flowers and plants, Banerjee said. Their daughters had studied together.A police team also visited the couple’s flat around 9.30pm on Wednesday, according to neighbours. The team spoke to residents, tried to contact family members and provided helpline numbers. But by Thursday night, the family had received no official confirmation about the couple’s whereabouts.The video circulating on social media has therefore offered hope without providing certainty as relatives, friends and neighbours wait anxiously, they have appealed to the administration to step up efforts to trace the missing tourists and ensure their safe return.
