The names of 15 Indian Australians missing after the Nepal flood disaster have been released as relatives wait for news and a tour operator searches the affected region by helicopter.
The passenger list from the Himalayan Glacier Adventures Kailash group includes two families, two boys aged 11 and 14, and travellers from Sydney and Melbourne.
The group had reportedly finished breakfast inside a four-storey concrete building near the Nepal-China border when the flood struck on Wednesday morning. The building is believed to have been swept away or buried as water, mud, rock and ice surged through the valley.
Tour operator Sagar Pandey has hired a helicopter to search for the group, but destroyed roads, damaged communications and the scale of the debris have hampered efforts to establish what happened.
The missing members of the Iyer family are Sreedharan Iyer Iyer, 52; his wife, Lakshmi Sreedharan Iyer, 50; and their sons Rishabh Iyer Sreedharan Iyer, 23, and Rudhra Sreesharan Iyer, 20.
Brothers Rishabh and Rudhra are university students. The University of Newcastle and the West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club are among those awaiting information about the family.
Chandrasekaran Muralitharan, 47, and his wife, Shylaja Muralitharan, 42, are missing with their sons Ashwin, 14, and Aarush, 11.
Western Sydney couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and Chitra Venkatraman, 46, are also on the passenger list. Their son said he last spoke to them when they were about 15 kilometres from the Tibet border.
The other missing travellers are Rajeswari Sharma, 64; Sruthi Chandrasekaran, 36; Umesh Sharma, 55; Krishna Sharma, 50; and Kumar Ramaswamy Sampath, 61.
Fourteen members of the group are from New South Wales, while Sampath is from Melbourne.
Chitrak Sharma, whose parents Umesh and Krishna are missing, said he had been unable to contact them since the disaster.
“I’m just trying to get in touch with my parents,” he said. “I just want to know that they’re OK.”
As families continued calling authorities and tour companies, Sharma said: “I just want to hear their voice again. I just want to talk to them again. I want to see them again.”
The 15 were part of a group of 47 people organised by Himalayan Glacier Adventures. The party also included travellers from the United States, Britain, Singapore and Russia, as well as Nepalese staff.
They were travelling towards Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, sacred pilgrimage sites for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and followers of the Bon religion.
At least 39 Australians remain unaccounted for across separate pilgrimage and trekking groups affected by the floods. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is handling 43 consular cases connected to the disaster.
Victoria’s Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Paul Edbrooke, expressed sympathy to those affected and said the state government was prepared to assist Victoria’s Nepalese community.
“Our thoughts are with all of those who have been impacted, especially the family and friends of those who remain unaccounted for,” Edbrooke said.
Describing the Nepalese community as one of Victoria’s fastest-growing communities, he said: “We stand with you in your moment of pain.”
Edbrooke said the government would provide support if requested and commended emergency workers and volunteers in Nepal and China.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the Victorian Liberal and Nationals stood with the Australian Nepalese community as families confronted news of the disaster.
“Many members of our Victorian Nepali and Indian communities are experiencing unimaginable anxiety as rescue operations continue under difficult and dangerous conditions,” Wilson said.
She said Victoria was home to “a proud Nepali community” and that no one should have to face the uncertainty alone.
Shadow minister for multicultural and multifaith affairs Evan Mulholland said families across Victoria were enduring an agonising wait for information about relatives and friends.
“Victoria’s Nepali community is a cherished part of our multicultural state, and right now many of them are living through every family’s worst nightmare,” Mulholland said.
“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Nepali community during this immensely difficult period.”
The Australian Government is deploying additional consular officers and three humanitarian response specialists to the region. It has also announced $5 million in assistance for food, shelter, clean water, medical care and recovery work.
Australians seeking urgent consular assistance can contact DFAT’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 or +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas.
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