States step up efforts to trace tourists in flood-hit Nepal

The number of Indians reported missing has risen from the 133 Indians and 37 non-resident Indians reported missing on Wednesday. At least 50 of those missing were pilgrims travelling for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

At least 77 pilgrims from Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation Kailash pilgrimage group are reported missing after a massive flash flood swept through central Nepal, with the group at an immigration office when the disaster struck.

Nearly 80 tourists from Maharashtra are estimated to be stranded in flood-hit Nepal, though the figure is preliminary and may be revised as authorities verify the information, officials said on Thursday.

As many as 53 Keralites, including children, are estimated to be stranded in flood-hit Nepal, while 57 Tamil pilgrims from a group organised by Super Yatra Kumbakonam and another 49 taken by Chennai-based Mahadev Kailash Yatra are also believed to be affected.

In Karnataka, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said five people from Bengaluru who had travelled to Nepal are missing and efforts are underway to trace them. Meanwhile, around 32 tourists from Kolkata, including a US-based Indian, are also reportedly missing after flash floods swept Nepal; the group had left Kolkata on August 21 for the Manasarovar pilgrimage.