THANJAVUR/MAYILADUTHURAI/CHENNAI/DHARMAPURI: A flash flood and landslide in Nepal's Bhote Koshi River region on Wednesday left 37 tourists from Tamil Nadu unreachable after one of three buses carrying a 57-member group on a pilgrimage to Manasarovar reportedly fell into a gorge. Rescue efforts are underway amid difficult terrain, poor visibility and disrupted mobile connectivity.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has stepped up efforts to trace and rescue Tamils stranded in Nepal following flash floods, with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay directing officials to coordinate with the Indian Embassy and the Union External Affairs Ministry.
According to sources, of the total of 57 people, 36 are women and 21 are men. The district wise break up of tourists are: Cuddalore-12, Thanjavur-11, Tiruchy-10, Mayiladuthurai-7, Krishnagiri-4, Chennai-4, Puducherry-3, Dharmapuri- 2, Namakkal-1, Tiruvarur-2, Tiruvannamalai-1. As many as 20 people have taken refuge in the Armed Police Outpost in Timure.
Among the seven people from Mayiladuthurai district, Poonguzhali Ponnambalam (62), Manimekalai Sukumar (65) and Rathina Kumar Kunchithapatham (65) have been identified as safe. Mayiladuthurai Collector H S Srikanth said the district administration was making efforts to contact the remaining four people -- Pushpalatha Manoharan (60), Rajeswari Udhayakumar (57), Venkatraman Krishnamoorthy (50), and Sivagnanam Veerasami (63), who is a retired justice of the Madras High Court.
On the status of the 10 women pilgrims from Tiruchy, District Collector Pratik Tayal said on Wednesday that the district administration was in touch with the concerned officials to ascertain their whereabouts.
A staff member of the travel agency who accompanied the pilgrims reportedly saw one of the three buses in which the group members were traveling, falling into a gorge following the landslide triggered by a flash flood.
Syed Sadiq, the owner of the Super Yathra Agency in Kumbakonam which organised the tour, said that all 57 pilgrims flew from Chennai airport to Delhi on August 23. The next day, from Delhi, all tourists flew in a single flight to Kathmandu. Syed also accompanied the group till Kathmandu and from there he returned to Kumbakonam.
Meanwhile, Syed's son Sayeed Sadiq accompanied the tourists. On Wednesday morning, the 57 tourists, including Sayeed Sadiq, took three buses from Syabrubesi to Gyirong.
Sadiq said, "On the way, a landslide happened around 9 am on Wednesday. M Ragunathan, who was in charge of a bus spoke to me and said there was a sound like a blast and the earth shattered." Even as that bus reached a safer place, another bus following Ragunathan fell in a gorge. "After ensuring the safety of Raghunathan's bus, he informed the military officials", Sadiq said.
Pushpalatha Manoharan of Mayiladuthurai, a widow with no children, is cared for by her close relative K S Ramesh. Ramesh said Pushpalatha regularly visits Kasi, but this is her first trip to Nepal. "We have not been able to contact her or anyone travelling with her. I learnt about the incident from the news. When I called the toll-free number, they said everyone was safe. However, Pushpalatha was not among those shown in the photograph of people that was shared," Ramesh said.
Jayasri Manikandan of Valayapettai village near Swamimalai, whose father-in-law D Rajakumar and mother-in-law Jayanthi are part of the tour, told TNIE, "They spoke to us over phone on Tuesday night. We did not contact them on Wednesday morning. But we could not contact them as their mobile phones were switched off."
J Selvarajan of Kumbakonam told media persons that his brother J Thirumalairajan and sister-in-law Thaiyanayaki were part of the group. "The agency staff are saying a bus fell into a gorge. But they also said all are safe", he added.
V Lakshmipriya, daughter of a missing pilgrim V Pushpa (54) of Maniyambadi village from Dharmapuri district, said, "We couldn't contact my mother after we spoke to her Wednesday morning. Despite multiple efforts, we are not able to reach her."
Meanwhile, Mohammed Hussain, another son of the travels owner, told media persons in Kumbakonam that they have engaged a chopper for the rescue operation. "We have supplied food and beverages for the 20 people through the chopper," Hussain said, adding the search will continue tomorrow as cloudy conditions prevented the operations Wednesday. "As the mobile towers are damaged, terrain is inaccessible and the pilgrims are scattered, it is difficult to locate them," he added.
In a post on X, CM Vijay said he was shocked and deeply saddened by reports that several Indians, including Tamils, were missing following the sudden floods in Nepal. He directed senior officials at Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi to take all steps to rescue those from Tamil Nadu and provide necessary assistance to the affected people. The State government said it was collecting details of the affected Tamils through the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Nepal to confirm their safety and help in their rescue.
The government has also announced 24-hour helpline numbers for Tamils stranded in Nepal and their families in Tamil Nadu. They can contact the Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Department at 1800 309 3793.
A missed-call facility is available from abroad at +91 80 6900 9900, while +91 80 6900 9901 can be contacted for assistance. The Tamil Nadu House control room in New Delhi can be reached at 9289516712.
Meanwhile, Chennai Central MP Dayanidhi Maran urged Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to intervene immediately to rescue and safely bring back Indian tourists stranded or missing in Nepal.
