Families seek answers for Australians missing after Nepal-Tibet floods

For families searching for missing Australians, the last confirmed message from an 80-person pilgrimage group came at 9:05 a.m. The group had reached an immigration post while returning from Tibet to Nepal. Ten minutes later, a wall of water, ice and debris swept through the valley after a glacial collapse.

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The immigration office complex has been completely washed away.

The Isha Foundation said the immigration office complex was completely washed away. It remains unclear how many members of the group had formally crossed the checkpoint. Many of the 42 Australians reported missing were pilgrims travelling from Nepal into Tibet to visit Mount Kailash, a site revered in four religions. Several tour groups have reported missing people.

Bhavin Patel travelled from New South Wales to Nepal after his wife, Reshma, disappeared with the Isha Foundation group. He said her phone data showed a connection in Tibet during the hours after the flood. Patel has visited hospitals in Kathmandu, checked survivor lists and met representatives of the foundation and embassy officials, but said he felt helpless without more cooperation from China.

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I just want some help to bring Reshma back home.

"I just want some help to bring Reshma back home," Patel told the ABC. He said the family was "desperately seeking assistance" and was ready to share the phone data. Chinese state media reported that six Australians were among 261 foreign nationals unaccounted for on the Chinese side of the border.

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desperately seeking assistance

Another relative, Nava Pandey, travelled to Nepal searching for his wife, Sumi Adhikari, who had also completed the pilgrimage. Families have called on Chinese authorities and local officials to release verified information, provide regular updates and establish direct communication about the search.

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We are ready to share [the phone data].