Authorities say 43 Australians remain missing after catastrophic flooding in the Nepal-Tibet border region, where more than 2,400 people are unaccounted for and search efforts are continuing. The numbers are brutal. Families are left scanning hospital lists, chasing phone signals, and begging for scraps of verified information while officials in Beijing and Canberra trade statements about what they’re doing.
Among the missing is Queensland disability worker Renee Spry, a Sunshine Coast mother of two who was on her way home from Nepal when flash flooding struck. Her sister, Clair Spry, said Ms Spry had just completed a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and was due to return home shortly. Clair Spry wrote on social media: "Our beloved sister Renee is still missing from the Tibet-Nepal border after the devastating events from this week," and added, "We continue to pray for her, the Nepalese people and those also still [yet] to return to the safety [of] their homes and families." Ms Spry's husband is trying to travel to Nepal to assist with the search.
Who Gets Left Waiting
Melbourne residents Sidharthi Kumari Sahu, 39, and her husband Sandeep Mohapatra, 43, have also been identified among the Australians missing in Nepal. The couple from Wantirna South and four other Australians were part of a pilgrimage group with Kailash Journeys. Close friend Rubila Rath said their loved ones still held hope that they would be found soon. "They were beautiful souls and we just want them back," she said. "She was like a sister to me, and he was like my brother-in-law. I'm just holding on to hope that we'll see them both again soon."
The pair were photographed in Kathmandu on Tuesday, along with Queensland woman Kanagamah Sundrasan and Australian Royal Air Force member Karan Bhardwaj, along with two of his friends from Brisbane. Sydney IT worker Gopi Krishna Naidu Agastya is also missing in Nepal. His friend, Pavan Kurucheti, said the 45-year-old father of two was at an immigration building on the Gyirong border crossing when the flash flood hit. Mr Agastya was among Australians travelling with the Isha Foundation, a spiritual organisation that facilitates pilgrimages to the sacred region. Many of the 43 Australians missing after the disaster were pilgrims trekking from Nepal into Tibet to visit Mount Kailash, a site revered by four different religions.
Mr Agastya's wife, children, family and friends are anxiously waiting for news of the Parramatta resident, Mr Kurucheti said, urging anyone with information to reach out. Family members of other Australians have also appealed for more information from Chinese authorities and more assistance from the Australian government. One group of 80, including 11 Australians, had just finished the spiritual journey when the floods swept through the region. The leader of the Isha Foundation tour sent a text message at 9:05am, Nepal time, saying they had arrived at the immigration post to cross back from Tibet into Nepal. Ten minutes later, a wall of water, ice and debris triggered by a glacial collapse swept through the valley. "The immigration office complex has been completely washed away," a spokesperson for the Isha Foundation said. It is not clear how many people from the tour had officially passed through the checkpoint.
What the Officials Say
Bhavin Patel's wife Reshma was part of the Isha Foundation group, and he has flown from New South Wales to Nepal to search for her. He believes she is alive and has said the family is "desperately seeking assistance" to find her. "I just want some help to bring Reshma back home," he told the ABC. Mr Patel has checked her phone signal data and says it shows a connection in Tibet in the hours after the flood. Chinese state media yesterday reported six Australians were among the 261 foreign nationals unaccounted-for on the Chinese side of the border. Mr Patel said he felt "helpless" and wanted Australia to do more. He has visited hospitals in Kathmandu, scanning lists of survivors, as well as meeting with the Isha Foundation and embassy officials. "I just tried everywhere, but I'm not getting any help from there."
Nava Pandey's wife, Sumi Adhikari, also completed the pilgrimage with the Isha Foundation, and he too has travelled to Nepal searching for answers. He earlier appealed for the Chinese government and local authorities "to release all available verified information, provide regular updates about the search efforts and establish direct communication with the affected families". Chinese authorities are conducting search-and-rescue operations in the border crossing area, but they have faced criticism for a tight control on information and being slow to release details about the people missing there. The border crossing site is one of the hardest-hit areas, and it has been cut off, with rescuers only reaching it on Friday. Chinese state media reported teams crossed mountains and used ropes to rappel down slopes to reach the site, with one rescuer saying, "as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but ruins." The Isha Foundation said its group's information had been provided "to the frontline rescue teams" and "additional phone-signal information" was being shared "to assist with the search."
Kailash Journeys, another company that takes pilgrims to the mountain, posted a photo on social media taken in Kathmandu before its trek departed. The people in the picture are now all missing. "If you recognize anyone in this photo — or have any information, however small, about the group's whereabouts — please contact us immediately," the caption reads. Brisbane woman Aarti Raval's husband, Bhavinkumar Raval, is sitting on the ground in the photo, smiling. He had gone on the Kailash Yatra pilgrimage with her cousin, Karan Bhardwaj, and their friend, Arpan Mithalal Kothari. "I am having nightmares every night of my loved ones stranded in the jungle or stuck in the mud," she told the ABC. "You have no idea the suffocation I am feeling. It is killing us." She believes he is still alive and is making plans to travel to Nepal, saying she needs to "be there when he is rescued." She has been critical of the amount of information being provided by the Australian government, including about which side of the border missing people may have been on.
The Australian government said its officials in Beijing and Canberra were "engaging with Chinese authorities". "We have consistently sought further and updated information on what the Chinese authorities know of any Australians involved in this tragedy, and will continue to do so," it said. It said it was doing "everything we can" to "confirm [the] welfare" of the missing 43 Australians and "support their loved ones." "This is an extremely anxious time for their families and loved ones," it said. "They are understandably desperate for news, and our thoughts are very much with them."
Vigils, Aid, and the Machinery of Response
The pain of the tragedy is being felt by Nepalis in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Madhu Banthee, a resident of Santa Teresa, a tiny town south-east of Alice Springs, said there were 400 to 500 Nepali people living in Central Australia and that four or five families in the region had been affected by the disaster, including himself. He has not heard from his best friend and Nepali authorities believe more than 2,400 people are still missing. More than 250 people attended a vigil to show support and solidarity for the Nepali community in Alice Springs last night. "My own story, you know, I had my best mate who lives in Brisbane and he was there in Nepal," Mr Banthee said. "He was alive just two hours before the flood … we didn't hear any messages after that flood. I can imagine the families who lost their immediate families there … so it's a very, very tough time." Mr Banthee said he still had hope for people who were missing. "We heard lots of stories about miracles … I'm just waiting [for] the miracles," he said. He said some community members were keen to give hands-on support and that others were planning fundraisers to send money home.
The Australian government announced it would increase its humanitarian assistance for Nepal to $8 million. Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlewaite said this funding would mostly go towards the supply of hygiene kits. "There's a desperate need for these kits for people in the region and also solar lights," he said. "Obviously all of the power and telecommunications infrastructure has been wiped out. So those kits are being put together, they'll be transported by the Australian Defence Force over the coming days."
Rescue operations continue in Nepal, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade committing a further 12 crisis officials to assist in recovery efforts. Hundreds of people have gathered across the country to mourn the lives lost and share a message of hope to those still reported missing. The Australian government has pledged a further $3 million in aid. As search efforts enter the fifth day in Nepal and rescue teams continue to comb through mud and debris for signs of life, hundreds gather across Australia for vigils honouring the flood-stricken region and the 42 Australians still unaccounted for.
Almost 9,500 kilometres away from the ongoing rescue operations in Nepal, crowds gathered at King George Square in Brisbane for a candlelight vigil organised by city's Nepali community. Treasurer Jim Chalmers addressed the hundreds gathered to share a message of support for the Nepali community. "We appreciate the Nepalese community every day, but on days like today we are there for you," he said. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade committed a further 12 response personnel after eight arrived in Kathmandu this morning. The Australian government has also pledged a further $3 million to the recovery efforts. Mr Chalmers said some of the country's "finest" had gone to the "majestic" Himalayan site to provide assistance. "Australia sends some of its finest people, we send millions of dollars in aid, but most of all I know that every single Australian at this very difficult time sends our love," he said.
The Nepalese Association of Queensland said it has been a difficult time, with many hundreds dead and thousands missing. It has thanked the wider community for their prayers and support as they wait for news of their loved ones. NAQ president Tikaram Sarma found out today one his cousins was among the missing. "We still have hope. We can find many people," he said. "[But] it's a difficult rescue mission." He urged anyone who could to donate to fundraising efforts.
In Darwin, about 100 people gathered on the steps of the Northern Territory parliament on Sunday evening to light candles in memory of those killed or missing in the flooding disaster in Nepal and Tibet. Trilochan Sapkota from the Northern Territory's Non-Resident Nepali Association said in a speech that the tragedy in Nepal had reached far beyond its borders, and that each candle represented a life lost, and the hope that those still missing would be found. Student Simran Kandel said many local events and festivals had been cancelled in the wake of the disaster, and encouraged donations to the Nepali Prime Minister's disaster relief fund. "Even though there are thousands of people missing, we're hoping that they arrive safely back home, and that's why we collect here today to send our blessings to those people," he said.