Eleven Australians were among an 80-member Isha Foundation pilgrimage group inside a Tibet immigration centre shortly before it was struck by the catastrophic floods along the Nepal-China border, according to the organisation.
The S3 group had completed the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage and was passing through immigration at Gyirong on Wednesday morning when contact was lost.
Isha Sacred Walks coordinator Maa Gambhiri said organisers spoke to the group leader at 9.05am. Calls made about 10 minutes later went unanswered, placing the loss of contact between approximately 9.05am and 9.15am.
The group included 77 pilgrims and three Isha personnel, comprising 34 men and 46 women. Isha said 22 were from the United States, 12 from Canada, 11 from Australia and nine from Britain.
Others were from Germany, France, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Portugal, the Philippines, Russia and other countries.
The nationality breakdown has been released by Isha Foundation but has not been independently confirmed by authorities.
Isha founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev became emotional as he informed pilgrims at a foundation camp in Saga, Tibet, that the group remained unaccounted for.
“Literally, the entire group was there in the building,” he said. “This is a terrible and an extraordinary event.”
Sadhguru said roads into Gyirong were blocked and telecommunications had failed, preventing Isha representatives from reaching the town or contacting members of the group.
“All phones are off, telecommunications are down, roads are blocked, we are unable to go there,” he said.
Video from the Chinese side of the border showed a wall of mud and debris sweeping through the border facility. Chinese authorities have reported three deaths and 558 people missing across Gyirong County, including 260 foreign nationals.
Sadhguru appealed to Indian and Chinese authorities to allow him and a small team of volunteers to enter the disaster zone.
He said he was writing “in absolute pain” after “losing 80 people from our group in the floods in Gyirong”.
“We have no further information after the floods,” he said.
Sadhguru said any Isha team entering the area would respect the official response and would not interfere with rescue work.
“Our only intent is to stand with them and aid in looking for some signs that would help the families,” he said.
The Australians in the S3 group are believed to account for 11 of the 39 Australians whom the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade lists as unaccounted for across the affected region.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday that DFAT was handling 43 consular cases connected to the disaster and had contacted families of missing Australians.
The identities of the 11 Australians travelling with Isha have not been officially released. No complete passenger list has been made public, and Australian authorities have not confirmed whether any members of the group have been found.
Australia-based couple Sandeep Mohapatra and Sidharthi Kumari Sahu, originally from Odisha, have been publicly identified as missing in the disaster.
Their family told Reuters they last spoke to the couple on August 23 and received a text message the following day. However, available reports do not establish that they were members of Isha’s S3 group.
At least 392 people have been confirmed dead across Nepal and Tibet, while close to 1,500 remain missing. Many of those unaccounted for are foreign pilgrims and tourists travelling to or returning from Mount Kailash.
The mountain and nearby Lake Manasarovar are sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and followers of the Bon religion. Pilgrims traditionally complete a 53-kilometre circuit around the mountain.
The disaster began when a mass of glacial ice and rock collapsed high in the Himalayas, sending water, mud, boulders and debris through valleys and towns on both sides of the border.
The United States Geological Survey said activity initially reported as an earthquake had been generated by the glacial collapse itself.
Roads, bridges, homes, hotels, hydropower facilities and communications networks were destroyed, leaving rescue teams dependent on helicopters to reach some communities.
Authorities are also monitoring lakes formed behind rock, ice and debris, amid fears that a natural barrier could fail and release another flood.
Isha Foundation said 495 members of its other pilgrimage groups had returned safely. A further 743 pilgrims were reported to be elsewhere in Tibet and 148 in Nepal when the organisation issued its initial update.
“All of us, including the volunteers and support teams, are deeply anguished and are doing our utmost to assist in the rescue,” Sadhguru said.
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