Nepal floods : Bengal, Tamil Nadu groups among Indians missing
More than 130 Indians, including pilgrims travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, are missing and scores of others are stranded in Nepal after flash floods swept through parts of the country, disrupting communication and cutting off affected areas, officials said.
The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and several state governments have opened helplines to assist Indians stranded in Nepal and their families.
At least 59 of the affected Indians were pilgrims travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, according to Samrat Tours and Travel. Details of several Indians remained unclear as communication links in the flood-hit areas were disrupted.
A 32-member group from Kolkata travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is among those untraceable. The group, comprising 30 tourists and two tour managers, left Kolkata on August 21 and reached Nepal the following day.
The group reached Rasuwagadhi on Wednesday morning to cross into Tibet and was at an immigration office around 8.30 am when the flash flood struck the area near the Nepal-Tibet border.
"There has been no communication with any of the 32 members since the flash flood struck the area," a state government official said.
Residents of Chandannagar in Hooghly and Barasat in North 24 Parganas are also believed to be among those stranded or missing. A helpline has been opened to assist families seeking information about their relatives.
The whereabouts of 37 of 57 tourists from Tamil Nadu were yet to be ascertained, while 20 had been accounted for, state officials said. The tourists were reportedly travelling to a temple in the Himalayan region.
The Isha Foundation said 77 of its members who were at an immigration centre in Nepal were missing. Its founder Sadhguru said 495 members had returned safely. The Nepal government later said the staff of the immigration centre was also out of contact.
Seven tourists from Maharashtra were reported stranded in Nepal. Authorities established contact with four of them, including two each from Mumbai and Pune, while efforts continued to trace the remaining three.
Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, who had travelled to Nepal by road with associates, was stranded in Pokhara. He said he planned to travel to Kathmandu by air and then return to Delhi.
A 36-member group from Kerala touring Nepal was reported safe and away from the affected areas. The state has opened a helpdesk through NORKA-Roots to assist people from Kerala affected by the floods.
Sikkim, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh have also set up helplines and control rooms to assist residents whose family members may be stranded in Nepal.
The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has issued emergency contact numbers for Indians seeking assistance: +977 985 131 6807 and +977 970 910 7500.
State governments have urged families who have lost contact with relatives travelling in Nepal to provide their details to the respective helplines so authorities can coordinate with Nepalese officials and assist in tracing them.
(With inputs from PTI)
