Bengaluru, Aug 30: Four middle-aged friends from Whitefield who travelled to Nepal on a pilgrimage have been missing since August 26, after flash floods struck near the Nepal-Tibet border.
Families of the four have been desperately trying to establish contact, but have so far been unable to ascertain their whereabouts. Relatives are now hoping for their safe return as rescue and tracing efforts continue.
Anagha, 49, and her husband Venkataram Annamdevara, 52, were reportedly at the Nepal-Tibet border immigration centre when flash floods hit the area. Their daughter Tanvi said the couple had travelled as part of a 67-member group organised by Richa Tours/Hills and Trails.
“My parents are both engineers and had gone on the pilgrimage with two of their friends. They were excited for the trip,” Tanvi said.
According to the family, all members of the tour group, including the group leader, became unreachable after the floods were reported on the morning of August 26.
The group had around 10 members from Bengaluru. Despite contacting the Indian Embassy, the family said they had not received information about the whereabouts of Anagha, Venkataram or other members of the group.
Another group of four friends missing
Another four friends from Whitefield were also part of the same tour group and are feared missing.
Loganathan, who is awaiting information about his friends, identified them as Shankar Venktachallam, Srividya Shankar, Nellaipalli Ramakrishnan Kothandaraman and Rema Kothandaraman.
He said the friends had known each other for nearly two decades, with some having worked together. The group members are senior citizens and were undertaking such a pilgrimage for the first time.
Family members and friends said the group had reached the immigration camp around 8.30 am on August 26, when flash floods struck the region.
The sudden flooding has made it difficult for relatives to establish contact with travellers in the affected areas, adding to the uncertainty surrounding their safety.
Ten more Kannadigas reportedly missing
A separate group of 10 US and Canadian citizens of Bengaluru and Udupi origin is also reportedly missing following the floods.
According to Loganathan, the group was travelling with Classic Vacations Nepal and was last known to be in Rasuwagadhi.
The missing travellers have been identified as Srinivas Sudhir, Sudhindra Yapalparvi, Laxminath Gopisetty, Venkataraman Balasubramanyam, Kirti Achary, Anil Goel, Venkat, Keshav Rao, Mahendra Gupta and Vivek Srivastav.
The reports of multiple groups from Karnataka being untraceable have intensified concerns among families waiting for information from the flood-hit areas.
Authorities and relatives continue to seek details about the missing travellers, while families remain hopeful that they will be located and brought back safely.