Partner of Missing Australian in Nepal Says Waiting for News Has Been 'Hell'

Sarada Viswanathan has turned her family home in north-west Sydney into a search centre for her missing partner and his relatives after catastrophic flooding in Nepal and Tibet.

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It's been genuinely just hell for us.

Rishab Iyer, 23, was travelling with his parents and brother on a Hindu pilgrimage in Nepal. The family was staying at the Royal Himalaya Hotel & Lodge near the river that flooded. Their relatives have not heard from them since the previous Wednesday.

Viswanathan said the absence of information had made the wait unbearable. She has been checking Find My iPhone, Life360 and other location-tracking websites, with the last known locations showing Rishab outside the hotel and his brother slightly farther along the highway.

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It's been really difficult just not having any answers and not knowing where they are, how they're doing, whether they need help, whether they're drinking water, whether they're eating. Are they injured?

She said she and her friends were hoping the family had reached higher ground and was trapped in a remote area without communications. Relatives already in Nepal have been passing on every available detail, but the disaster zone has proved difficult to reach on foot.

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We're just hoping that they managed to climb somewhere and they managed to escape and that they just are in a remote region that's blocked off and they're not able to get in contact with anyone.

Viswanathan has launched a petition calling for Australian defence personnel to assist with patrols, helicopter searches and thermal drones. Australia has committed $8 million for aid supplies and dispatched an 18-person crisis response team, including consular staff and Australian Federal Police officers. Nepal has rejected offers of rescue assistance from foreign governments, while Australia says it continues to offer search and rescue support to Nepali authorities.

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You never stop at anything to get your family back when they're missing. We appreciate all of the money and all the humanitarian aid that has been given. We're just hoping that we can get actual people there.