‘Worst 24 hours of my life’: Indo-American doctor appeals for help after parents go missing in Nepal floods | World News
An Indo-American doctor has made an urgent appeal for information about her parents after the couple went missing during catastrophic flash floods and landslides near the Nepal-China border while travelling on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.Radhika Sharma said her parents, Ramesh Sharma, 65, and Neelam Sharma, 64, have been “missing and unaccounted” for since they crossed the Nepal-China border at around 8am local time on Wednesday, about 40 minutes before the floods struck. She said she has not heard from them since.“It’s been probably over 24 hours, and probably been the worst 24 hours of my life, my brother’s life,” Sharma told NBC. “We’re just waiting to hear from them, and just any information, honestly.”Sharma turned to social media for help and appealed to anyone with contacts in Nepal and Tibet who might have information about her parents. In a post on X, she asked people with direct contacts in Gyirong and Tibet, local hospitals, rescue operations, government authorities or local media to contact her immediately.“I would greatly appreciate any help. Any contacts, any information,” she wrote.The couple were travelling as part of a pilgrimage to sacred Mount Kailash when the floods and landslides struck the Himalayan border region. Their disappearance comes as authorities continue searching for hundreds of people who remain unaccounted for following the disaster.The floods have killed at least 165 people in Nepal, according to figures provided by Nepalese authorities. Three deaths have also been reported in Tibet, where 558 people are missing.The figures have continued to change as authorities work to establish the full scale of the disaster. A later update put the death toll in Nepal at 270, while 826 are still missing. Nepalese officials said dozens of bridges had been destroyed and nearly 40 kilometres (25 miles) of roads damaged, making it harder for rescue teams to reach affected areas.The Nepalese Army has been using helicopters to reach people stranded by the floods. Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said more than 100 people had been rescued from flood-hit areas on Thursday morning, while at least eight foreign nationals were airlifted to Kathmandu. Army teams also evacuated people trapped inside facilities connected to the Trishuli hydropower project.The disaster has also affected Indian pilgrims travelling to Mount Kailash. An official spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs said 21 Indian nationals from Tamil Nadu who had travelled for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra had been rescued in Nepal.
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