MALAPPURAM: A four-member Australian Malayali family from Ponnani is among those missing in the Nepal floods. Sreedharan Iyer and his family, who were on pilgrimage to Manasarovar, had last contacted relatives in Kerala from Rasuwa, one of the severely affected areas.
The missing persons are Sreedharan Iyer, 54, his wife Lakshmi Sreedharan Iyer, 49, and children Rishab Sreedharan Iyer, 23, and Rudra Sreedharan Iyer, 20. The family, originally from Eeshwar Niwas in Ponnani, has been living in Sydney for years. Relatives from Ponnani have reached Nepal and joined search efforts.
The family arrived at Kathmandu airport on August 21 and travelled to Rasuwa. There are indications they may have moved to a safer location before the disaster. Relatives said the hotel where the family was staying is safe, and there are reports they checked out after receiving a warning about the disaster.
“It is believed that they checked out from there and flew to Kathmandu. It is also being assessed that the communication systems in the area were damaged due to the flash floods, which may be the reason why they could not be contacted. Sreedharan Iyer’s relatives from Ponnani have already reached Nepal to find out information and search,” said Ponnani MLA K P Noushad Ali.
The lack of mobile connectivity and the scale of the disaster have made it difficult to establish contact with the family. “Since they are Australian citizens, the Australian High Commission is also coordinating the rescue,” he said.