Nepal flash floods leave 37 Tamil Nadu tourists missing, search ops on

At least 37 tourists from Tamil Nadu were still unaccounted for on Wednesday night after flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border region, disrupting communications and triggering confusion over the status of several Indian travellers

The flooding began around 9 am when a sudden surge from the Tibetan side entered the Bhotekoshi River and swept through Nepal’s Rasuwa region. Nepalese authorities reported dozens of deaths and hundreds of people missing, while the disaster affected several areas downstream.

Officials said 57 tourists from Tamil Nadu were believed to be in the affected region. Of them, 20 had been accounted for, while the whereabouts of the remaining 37 were still being established. The group was reportedly travelling towards a Himalayan temple.

The wider group of missing Indian nationals included tourists and pilgrims travelling in Nepal, with several of them on the Kailash Manasarovar route. According to travel operator Samrat Tours and Travel, at least 59 Indians among those affected were pilgrims undertaking the yatra.

The disruption to roads, bridges and communication networks has made it difficult for authorities to establish the status of those stranded or missing. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and the governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have opened helplines to assist affected Indians and their families.

The Isha Foundation in Coimbatore also reported that 77 of its members who had been at an immigration centre were unaccounted for. Founder Sadhguru said there had been no official information about those at the centre, while 495 members had returned safely.

Nepalese authorities subsequently indicated that the staff of the immigration centre itself was also out of contact.