The families of an Australian Defence Force member and two Sydney boys who went missing with their parents in Nepal remain hopeful they will be found safe.
The husband of a missing Australian woman, Sumi Adhaki, has also flown to Nepal as he desperately searches for his wife, who was last seen at an immigration office.
Karan Bhardwaj, ۴۰, is a Brisbane based member of the Royal Australian Airforce who was travelling in Nepal with Kailash Journeys.
“Karan is a dad to my beautiful seven-year-old nephew, as well as a brother, uncle and brother in law,” said his family member Jen, who did not want her surname published.
“He is so desperately loved by his family and right now we are desperately praying, hoping and believing that Karan is safe, alive and somehow making his way back to us.”
Shylaja Muralitharan, ۴۲, her husband, Chandrasekaran Muralitharan, ۴۷, and their two sons Ashwin, ۱۴ and Aarush, ۱۱, were taking part in a pilgrimage when the flood hit on Wednesday morning.
The family of four are among ۳۹ Australians identified as missing in the region, with Nepal police reporting the death toll had reached ۴۶۹ on Friday, while about ۱,۳۰۰ people, mostly tourists, were yet to be accounted for.
Shylaja’s younger sister, Vaishnavi, said that she had lost contact with the family shortly after breakfast on the morning of the flood.
They planned to head towards an immigration checkpoint on the Tibet-Nepal border soon after, as part of the group of ۱۵ Australians trekking as part of the Himalayan Glacier Adventures tour.
“Just like everyone else that’s part of that group, we’re really worried, but hopeful,” Vaishnavi told the Guardian.
“Hopeful that they’re safe and just waiting to be rescued.
“It’s a very difficult time for our whole family … I just want to make people aware that they’re there, and we’re waiting, and we just want them to return.”
Vaishnavi, who asked that her surname not be published, confirmed the family were close with other members of the group who had also travelled from Sydney for the Hindu pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, in Tibet.
The family had been training together for the long walk, she said.
“They had been planning for some time, and preparing, because it’s quite a trek.
“They were all working very hard together to make sure they could successfully complete it.
“We just didn’t expect anything like this.”
Vaishnavi said it was difficult to get clear information about what was being done to find those who missing. She has spoken with department of foreign affairs and trade officials.
“We do want to know what efforts are being made … we’re not aware of what is actually happening there.”
Australian woman Sumi Adhikari was at an immigration office at the Gyirong Post crossing when the flood waters arrived. She was travelling as part of an Isha Foundation pilgrimage to the region.
Her husband, Nava Pandey, has travelled to Nepal and is desperately seeking information about her whereabouts.
“She was in the same area when the flood happened,” said a flyer produced Adhikari’s family, and published with their permission. “If anyone has seen her or has any information about her, please contact the family immediately.”
Bharat Mangwani, ۴۲, was travelling with the Isha Foundation as part of a pilgrimage to Lake Manasarovar when his family lost contact with him on Wednesday morning.
He was last seen at Gyirong before the group was set to depart for Kathmandu and then Delhi, his close friend Kushagra Tiwari, said.
Mangwani’s family, including his nine-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, have travelled to India with a family friend, while his wife has gone on to Kathmandu to look for any information.
“All of us are praying for him and hopefully he comes back to us soon,” Tiwari told Guardian Australia.
New South Wales couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, ۵۲, and his wife, Chitra Venkatraman, ۴۶, were also among the ۱۵ Australians travelling to Mount Kailash.
So too were Sreedharan and Lakshmi Iyer, and their adult sons Rishab, ۲۳, and Rudhra, ۲۰.
The brothers played cricket for West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook Cricket Club, in Sydney’s north-west.
“WPHCCC is aware of the reports that two of our players, Rishab and Rudhra Iyer, along with their family members and other Australians, are unaccounted for in the ongoing floods in Nepal,” the club said in a statement.
“We continue to live in hope, and our thoughts are currently with them, their loved ones and all affected by this tragedy in Nepal.”
The University of Newcastle’s vice-chancellor, Alex Zelinsky, said Rishab and Rudhra were both medical students the at the university.
“We are thinking of them, their families, their fellow students and teaching staff, as well as the many people who have been impacted by this devastating event and we hope that both students can be located soon,” Zelinsky said in a statement.
Separate groups of Australians – ۱۱ travelling with Trekkers Society and six with Kailash Journeys – are also unaccounted for. Both tour companies have been contacted for comment.
Several other Australians were travelling with other tour groups. It is understood the majority of missing Australians are from New South Wales, but there are also some from Victoria and Queensland.
Sagar Pandey, the founder and chief executive of Himalayan Glacier Adventures, said he had lost all contact with his tour group of ۴۷ people, which included the ۱۵ Australians.
Pandey told the Guardian on Thursday he had flown by helicopter over the Rasuwa area, where the tour was staying, since the flood and had little hope they survived.
“To be honest … you would think there was no human civilisation there at all.
“The flash flood swept away everything, everything. You couldn’t see any human creations.
“Still, I have a hope, but like ۱%; the rest I don’t have a hope, they are missing and missing and missing.”
The Isha Foundation confirmed that ۱۱ Australians were among a group of ۸۰ missing pilgrims who had been in an immigration building when the flood hit.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, said on Friday that the Australian government was “rapidly mobilising consular and humanitarian support in response” to the flooding.
“We understand at least ۳۹ Australians are among those reported missing. Australian officials are working urgently to confirm their welfare and provide assistance to those affected.”
Wong said the government would send an initial team of three humanitarian response specialists “within the next ۴۸ hours’” to help Australian staff already on the ground.
“The extraordinary scale of this disaster and the remoteness of the affected region mean immense challenges lie ahead for the response and recovery.”
