BHUBANESWAR/SAMBALPUR: Two members of a family from Bargarh district are reportedly missing in Nepal following the devastating flash flood on Wednesday, taking the number of people from the state whose whereabouts remain unaccounted for to four.
The missing persons have been identified as Gunnam Sai Bindu Kumari, wife of Gunnam Jayakrishna, and their two-year-old daughter. They are residents of Sarla Jampali village in Bargarh.
The family of Jayakrishna had initially approached the district administration after the couple could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Addressing the media on Friday afternoon, Bargarh collector Aditya Goyal said preliminary information suggested that three people from the district were missing.
“People from several parts of India are reported to have gone missing. Preliminary information suggests that three of them are from Bargarh. We are in touch with the family members of the missing people here and have informed the state government. Our efforts are underway to find and rescue them,” Goyal said.
Later in the evening, however, Jayakrishna was traced and found to be safe. There was still no information about his wife and daughter. Jayakrishna works for Haryana-based manpower company Integrated Workforce Solutions Private Limited, which had deployed him at a hydropower project in Nepal. The project is located around 40 km from Timure, one of the worst-affected areas.
Pritish Panda, the state government’s nodal officer to assist people stranded in Nepal, said the company had informed Jayakrishna’s family in the evening that he was safe. The whereabouts of his wife and daughter, however, remain unknown.
“It is yet to be ascertained in which area Jayakrishna’s wife and child were during the flash flood. We are waiting for information from the Ministry of External Affairs,” Panda said.
There was also no trace of the NRI couple Sandeep Mohapatra and Sidhharthi Kumari. Their last known GPS location was Timure on Wednesday, after which their mobile phones were found to be switched off. Efforts are underway to trace them, he said.
Meanwhile, the trekking team including Baripada’s Kulsum Nigar is safe. She has contacted her family and will be returning soon. The six footballers from Odisha, who were earlier reported safe, also played a football match in Pokhara and won, Panda said.