49 TN Kailash yatris missing after Nepal flash floods hit China side: Chennai tour operator

As many as 49 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who had completed the Kailash pilgrimage were on the Chinese side when flash floods struck the region on August 26, and they are now among those reported missing, the owner of the travel company that organised the yatra said on Sunday.

Maravel Nagappan, who organised the pilgrimage, said he was deeply concerned about the missing pilgrims. He said more than 40 people from Tamil Nadu had completed the Kailash yatra and were waiting to cross into Nepal from China when the disaster occurred.

Nagappan urged the Central government to seek information from Chinese authorities about the pilgrims who remain untraceable.

He said the Kailash yatra organised by his company began on August 14.

According to Nagappan, his son Sathyanarayana was leading the group. He had spoken to their Nepal-based travel partners shortly before the floods hit and asked them to keep vehicles ready for the pilgrims on the Nepal side.

Nagappan said his son had told the Nepalese travel associates that the group would complete the immigration process after about two hours and requested them to arrange vehicles accordingly.

"Our group of 49 people were 100 per cent on the China side at that time. So, we request our government, Indian government to take action quickly and get information from China," Nagappan told reporters.

At the time the floods struck, around 11 groups of Indian pilgrims, including those from Tamil Nadu, were waiting to enter China from Nepal, he said.

Nagappan said video footage had shown two of three buses being swept away by the floodwaters while the pilgrims were waiting to cross into China.

At the same time, three groups of pilgrims were waiting to leave China and enter Nepal. 

He said some pilgrims seen escaping from an immigration building in the videos belonged to his group. The company identified them from the footage because they were wearing their distinctive dark blue and grey jackets.

Nagappan said there was still a possibility that some of the missing pilgrims had survived.

He added that all available information about the pilgrims had already been shared with officials of the Tamil Nadu government.  (with inputs from PTI)