Thane Couple Among Missing as Nepal Flood Rescue Enters Third Day
Rescue efforts continue in flood-hit Nepal-Tibet border areas; families of Maharashtra pilgrims, including a Thane couple, await news.
Rescue operations along the flood-ravaged Nepal-Tibet border entered their third day on Friday, but families of several Maharashtra pilgrims remain without any word on their loved ones. Among those untraceable are Thane residents Aparna and Sameer Joshi, who were on their first visit to Nepal for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.
Sameer's brother, Sachin, said the family's last contact with the couple was on August 26, when Sameer sent a photograph around 7:30 am. His WhatsApp status was also updated around the same time. Both Aparna and Sameer work in the services sector and had been eagerly anticipating the trip.
The family has received calls from the office of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and from Richa Tours and Travels, the tour operator, but these have provided little clarity. The Maharashtra disaster management department has confirmed that over 290 tourists from the state remain stranded in Nepal. Of these, more than 60 were part of the Kailash-Mansarovar trek organised by Hills and Trails, the Mumbai-based partner of Richa Tours and Travels, and are untraceable.
A state government official said 395 people from Maharashtra are confirmed stuck in Nepal, with 105 already on their way back to India. The control room has established contact with the remaining 290, who are safe but stranded in different parts of the country.
Also missing from the Hills and Trails group are Thane-based retired IT consultants Rekha and Satish Patankar. According to Satish's brother Sanjay, the couple went for immigration around 8:30 am before communication stopped. They had told family they expected to cross the border the next day. Sanjay said the gravity of the situation became clear only after reports of missing tourists from Timure emerged. The couple's children, Apporva and Ankur, based in the US, have been trying to locate their parents.
Families have turned to social media, circulating missing posters on Instagram and Facebook. A WhatsApp group of families and acquaintances of 27 missing members of the Hills and Trails group is coordinating efforts and sharing information.