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Hyderabad: The number of Telangana-linked travellers reported missing in the Nepal flash flood disaster rose to 25 on Saturday, August 29, up from 23 a day earlier, as fresh distress calls from families continued to reach the state’s helpline.

The two latest names added to the list are non-resident Indians (NRI) with roots in Telangana who were part of an Isha Foundation group on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, officials manning the helpline told The Times of India. The state government has been coordinating with the Indian Embassy in Nepal as the list grows.

“Fresh information is coming in from families every day and is being passed on to the embassy,” an official handling the helpline said, adding that calls about missing persons were being received daily and relayed onward.

Clarity expected by August 31

Officials expect a clearer picture by Monday, August 31. Some of those unaccounted for may be in hospitals or could have been moved from the affected areas to Kathmandu before being flown back to India, the official said, adding that the state had so far received confirmation of one person’s repatriation, Ailla Nesha from Ranga Reddy district, with efforts continuing to trace the rest.

For those waiting, the uncertainty has been punishing. Among the untraced is a US citizen who grew up in Hyderabad and whose immediate family lives in the city. She was travelling with an Isha Foundation group and was last known to be at an immigration facility in Nepal.

Another US citizen, Deepak Nand, flew to Hyderabad to be with his 13-year-old son after his wife, Sridevi Vejella, was reported missing. He has appealed publicly for any information.

“My wife is one of the 22 missing Americans from the Isha Foundation Kailash Yatra group caught in the flash flood. We have had no contact due to the communication blackout. If anyone who can provide group updates, contact local rescue teams, or information on survivors moved to safety, please message me,” he wrote in a social media post.

Part of a wider disaster

The Telangana cases are a small subset of a much larger tragedy. The Isha Foundation has said 77 people travelling with its groups were at the Gyirong immigration centre on the Nepal-Tibet border, returning from Mount Kailash, when the floodwaters struck, with 22 of them American citizens.

Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said that the death toll has risen to 724 and 2,500 people are missing. The US Geological Survey has attributed the disaster to a glacial collapse that sent debris surging downstream, devastating settlements along the route.