Families of Missing Australians Await News as Nepal Flood Death Toll Nears 400

The family of two Sydney boys who vanished alongside their parents in Nepal’s catastrophic flash flooding say they are clinging to hope for their safe return.

Shylaja Muralitharan, 42, her husband Chandrasekaran, 47, and their sons Ashwin, 14, and Aarush, 11, were participating in a pilgrimage when the disaster struck on Wednesday morning. The family of four is among 39 Australians currently unaccounted for in the region, where the confirmed death toll has risen to nearly 400 and approximately 1,400 people—mostly tourists—remain missing.

Shylaja’s younger sister, Vaishnavi, said contact was lost shortly after breakfast on the day of the flood. The family had planned to proceed toward an immigration checkpoint on the Tibet-Nepal border as part of a 15-member Australian contingent trekking with Himalayan Glacier Adventures.

“Just like everyone else in that group, we’re incredibly worried, but we’re holding onto hope,” Vaishnavi told the Guardian. “Hopeful that they’re safe and simply waiting to be rescued. It’s an extremely difficult time for our whole family… I just want people to know they are there, we’re waiting, and we just want them to come home.”

Vaishnavi, who asked that her surname not be published, confirmed the family was close with other Sydney-based members of the group undertaking the Hindu pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet. She said the group had trained together extensively for the arduous journey.

“They had been planning and preparing for some time because it’s a significant trek,” she said. “They were all working very hard to ensure they could complete it successfully. We simply didn’t expect anything like this.”

Vaishnavi described the difficulty in obtaining clear information regarding search efforts. Although she has spoken with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials, she said, “We do want to know what efforts are being made… we’re not aware of what is actually happening on the ground.”

Among the other Australians traveling with the Himalayan Glacier Adventures group were New South Wales couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and his wife Chitra Venkatraman, 46, as well as Sreedharan and Lakshmi Iyer and their adult sons Rishab, 23, and Rudhra, 20. The brothers are members of the West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club in Sydney’s north-west.

“WPHCCC is aware of the reports that two of our players, Rishab and Rudhra Iyer, along with their family members and other Australians, are unaccounted for in the ongoing floods in Nepal,” the club said in a statement. “We continue to live in hope, and our thoughts are currently with them, their loved ones, and all those affected by this tragedy.”

Separate groups of Australians—11 traveling with Trekkers Society and six with Kailash Journeys—are also unaccounted for. Both tour companies have been contacted for comment. Additional Australians were traveling with other operators; the majority of those missing are understood to be from New South Wales, with others from Victoria and Queensland.

Sagar Pandey, founder and chief executive of Himalayan Glacier Adventures, said he has lost all contact with his tour group of 47 people, which included the 15 Australians. After flying over the Rasuwa area by helicopter on Thursday, Pandey expressed grave doubts about their survival.

“To be honest… you would think there was no human civilisation there at all,” he said. “The flash flood swept away everything, everything. You couldn’t see any human creations.”

“Still, I have hope, but like 1%; the rest I don’t have hope. They are missing and missing and missing.”

The Isha Foundation confirmed that 11 Australians were among a group of 80 missing pilgrims who had been inside an immigration building when the flood hit.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday that the Australian government was “rapidly mobilising consular and humanitarian support in response” to the disaster. “We understand at least 39 Australians are among those reported missing. Australian officials are working urgently to confirm their welfare and provide assistance to those affected,” she said.

Wong announced the government would deploy an initial team of three humanitarian response specialists within the next 48 hours to support Australian staff already on the ground. “The extraordinary scale of this disaster and the remoteness of the affected region mean immense challenges lie ahead for the response and recovery,” she added.

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