At least 39 Australians are missing after a catastrophic flood swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region, killing nearly 400 people and leaving more than 1,400 unaccounted for across the two countries.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed the Australian figure on Friday morning, an increase from 34 reported a day earlier. She warned the number could rise as authorities worked through incomplete passenger lists and reports from families and tour operators.
“We understand at least 39 Australians are among those reported missing,” Wong said. “Australian officials are working urgently to confirm their welfare and provide assistance to those affected.”
The missing Australians include pilgrims, tourists and trekkers travelling in separate groups. At least 15 are Indian Australians who were on their way to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, sacred sites for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and followers of the Bon religion.
Two boys aged 11 and 14 are among that group, which was organised by US-based tour operator Himalayan Glacier Adventures. Its 47 members also included travellers from the United States, Britain, Singapore and Russia, as well as nine Nepalese staff.
The group was believed to be in or near the Langtang Valley, close to the Chinese border, when the disaster struck on Wednesday morning.
Himalayan Glacier chief executive Sagar Pandey said he had flown over the flood zone by helicopter and found almost nothing remaining of settlements in the area. He placed the group’s chances of survival at just one per cent, although no Australian deaths have been officially confirmed.
“There are no human-made things, no human settlement left,” Pandey told Reuters. “Everything is just flat.”
Among the missing are Western Sydney couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and Chitra Venkatraman, 46. Their son told the ABC he last spoke to them when they were about 15 kilometres from the Tibet border.
“I’d like to see my parents and everyone who went with them back in one piece, and that everyone else there is as safe as possible,” he said.
Queensland businesswoman and mother of two Kanagamah Sundrasan is also missing after travelling to Mount Kailash to complete a pilgrimage. Her daughter Swaatika Kanniah said the family last spoke to her on Tuesday.
“It’s a very sacred spot, so it was one of her dreams to fulfil,” Kanniah said. “We really want her to come back home and we miss her, like, a lot.”
Vasan Srinivasan, chief executive of Mental Health Foundation Australia, said 14 of his friends from Sydney were among those unaccounted for.
“They’re very active community members,” Srinivasan told the ABC. “They took a religious and spiritual tour to Nepal.”
He said families had been unable to reach the travellers because telephone and electricity services had failed in the affected area.
The flood began after a vast mass of rock and ice collapsed high in the Himalayas, sending water, mud and debris through the Lhende and Bhote Koshi river systems and into towns and valleys below.
The event was initially reported as an earthquake. The US Geological Survey later said the seismic signal was generated by the collapse itself, rather than a separate earthquake.
Satellite imagery indicates part of a glacier fell from an altitude of about 5,200 metres and crashed roughly 1,200 metres onto the valley floor. The debris entered the river system and produced a rapidly moving surge that buried buildings, vehicles and roads.
Scientists say warming temperatures, melting glaciers and thawing permafrost are making parts of the Himalayas less stable. However, the precise role of climate change in Wednesday’s collapse has not yet been established.
Nepal Police said 389 bodies had been recovered and 466 people had been injured or rescued. At least three deaths were reported on the Tibetan side of the border.
Nepal Police said 389 bodies had been recovered and 466 people had been injured or rescued. At least three deaths were reported on the Tibetan side of the border.More than 13,000 Nepalese security personnel have reportedly been deployed, supported by military helicopters, emergency workers and search dogs.
The number of missing remains difficult to establish. Nepalese authorities have listed as many as 910 people as missing or out of contact, while Chinese authorities reported another 558 missing in Tibet. Hundreds are foreign visitors from more than 30 countries.
The missing include large numbers of Indian, American, British, Malaysian, Ukrainian and Canadian nationals. Many were travelling towards Mount Kailash, while others were trekking, working on infrastructure projects or living in communities along the river.
Roads, bridges, power stations, communications networks and border facilities were destroyed. The damage has left some communities accessible only by helicopter and made it difficult for authorities to confirm who was in the area.
More than 13,000 Nepalese security personnel have reportedly been deployed, supported by military helicopters, emergency workers and search dogs.
Authorities are also monitoring newly formed lakes held back by rock, ice and debris. A failure of one of these natural barriers could send another flood downstream, prompting warnings for communities near riverbanks and low-lying areas.
Australia has announced $5 million in humanitarian assistance for Nepal and China. The package includes $2 million for the World Food Programme, $2 million for Australian non-government organisations providing shelter, medical care and essential supplies, and $1 million for locally led recovery work through the Emergency Action Alliance.
Three Australian humanitarian response specialists are expected to travel to the region, joining additional consular personnel sent to Kathmandu.
Wong said the scale of the disaster and the remoteness of the affected communities would make rescue and recovery difficult.
“I know this is an extremely distressing time for those who have loved ones unaccounted for and we are thinking of them,” she said.
Smartraveller has advised Australians in Nepal and affected parts of China to contact their families or travel providers, avoid flood-damaged areas and move immediately to higher ground if conditions deteriorate.
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