The family of an Australian man has made a heartfelt plea after he went missing while visiting Nepal when a terrifying ‘tsunami from the sky’ engulfed villages.
Footage has emerged of locals sprinting for their lives as a catastrophic flood tore through a town in the country’s Rasuwa region on Wednesday, killing 600 people.
Nepal is facing what officials described as a scene of ‘devastation beyond imagination’ after a glacier collapse unleashed a ‘tsunami from the sky’, sending torrents of water crashing through villages and tourist hotspots.
The deadly deluge, reported to have surged as high as 650ft, has left 1,924 people missing in one of the country’s worst natural disasters in recent memory.
It was confirmed on Saturday that the number of missing Australians has risen to 41, up from 39 the day before.
This excludes young hiker Cara Severino, 26, from Wollongong, who was stranded at Kyangjia Gompa following the flood but able to make brief contact with her parents on Friday.
Messages of love have been shared by family and friends of those who remain unaccounted for, including those close to Michael Keats.
The Aussie man was identified by his sister Karen on social media as among those missing following the flood.
The number of Australians unaccounted for in in Nepal’s deadly floodwaters has risen to 41
Michael Hayley was named by his sister Karen as one of those missing after a flash flood hit
Rescuers transport an elderly woman rescued from an old age home following the flood
‘He travelled to this sacred part of the world on a journey that held such deep meaning for him,’ Karen said on social media.
‘He is currently missing in Nepal and while our hearts are carrying the unbearable weight of not knowing, we are holding onto hope and praying for a miracle. Come home to us, Mike. You are loved beyond words.’
Karen said that while her brother has not been confirmed dead, ‘the grief is already immeasurable’.
‘There is still hope and we are holding onto that with everything we have,’ she said.
‘But at the same time, my heart is trying to comprehend something it simply cannot comprehend.’
Royal Australian Air Force member and father-of-one Karan Bhardwaj, 40, was also confirmed as one of those missing in Nepal after his sister-in-law, Jen, also wrote a call for information on social media.
‘Please, for the love of God, let there be a miracle,’ she said.
‘Karan is a dad to my beautiful seven-year-old nephew, as well as a brother, uncle and brother-in-law. He is so deeply 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.
Royal Australian Air Force member and father-of-one Karan Bhardwaj, 40, was also confirmed as one of those missing in Nepal
Nepal is facing what officials described as a scene of ‘devastation beyond imagination’
This excludes young hiker Cara Severino, 26, from Wollongong, who was stranded at Kyangjia Gompa following the flood but able to make brief contact with her parents on Friday
‘Every minute that passes feels like an eternity… Karan, wherever you are — PLEASE KEEP FIGHTING. Your family is thinking of you every single second.’
Community vigils were held in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday night, with Michael’s family gathering with photos and candles in bushland in Heathcote, New South Wales.
Of the Australians reported missing, 15 were confirmed to be travelling with US-based tour operator Himalayan Glacier Adventures at the time the natural disaster struck.
Umesh and Krishna Sharma were travelling with the group when disaster struck, with their desperate son Chitrak now trying everything he can to find his parents.
Speaking to 9News, Chitrak said the pair were ‘very excited’ to embark on the tour.
‘I’ve just been trying to get in contact with them … calling hospitals. I just want to find my parents. They’re all I have, really. I would do anything just to bring them home,’ he said.
The Iyer family from Sydney’s north-west are also missing. They were also on the tour.
Sridharan Iyer, Roopa Sridhar, Rudhra Sreedharan Iyer and Rishabh Sridharan Iyer were last known to be in Kathmandu.
Umesh and Krishna Sharma are among Australians reported missing
The Lyer family from Sydney’s north-west are also missing
Fellow Sydneysiders Chandrasekaran and Shylaja Muralitharan, along with their young sons Ashwin and Aarush, were on the same tour.
Sagar Pandey, the founder of Himalayan Glacier Trekking, said he lost contact with the group of 47, including 15 Australians, following the disaster in the Rasuwa area.
Also missing are NSW couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and his wife Chitra Venkatraman, 46, along with Kanagamah Sundrasan, a mother-of-two and business owner in Queensland.
Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite confirmed 41 Australians remain unaccounted for on Saturday morning.
‘Our officials in Beijing are working with the Chinese government to provide support and as much information as possible,’ Thistlethwaite told ABC News.
‘At this stage the Chinese officials have not requested support, but we do stand ready to provide that support if it’s required.’
Australia has pledged $5million in support through the World Food Programme and Emergency Action Alliance, but he said that figure could increase if further assistance was requested.
‘At this stage that was based on the request from the Nepalese authorities,’ Thistlethwaite said.
Chitra Venkatraman (above) was on the Himalayan Glacier Trekking tour
Chitra Venkatraman (above) was on the Himalayan Glacier Trekking tour
‘When there was the earthquake in Nepal in 2015, Australia provided over $20 million worth of support, so that humanitarian support figure may grow into the future.
‘It just depends on the requests that we get from the Nepalese authorities.’
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have been deployed to the region to assist with recovery and identification efforts.
Smartraveller has updated its travel advice, urging Australians to exercise a high degree of caution because of major flash flooding and a mudslide.
Australians in need of urgent help should contact DFAT’s 24-hour consular emergency centre.
Chinese and Nepalese authorities warn further flooding may occur, complicating rescue efforts and posing a risk to communities in the area.
At least 579 people in Nepal and five in China’s Tibet are dead, with the number missing in Nepal nearly doubling to 1924, the country’s disaster authority said on Friday.
More than 550 were unaccounted for in Tibet’s Gyirong County, including 260 foreigners, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The Australian Government’s Smartraveller service has urged Australians to exercise a high degree of caution in Nepal because of major flash flooding and mudslides
Search and rescue efforts by China’s People’s Armed Police Force are underway
While search and rescue operations, aided by Australian officials, are ongoing, charities have banded together nationally to raise funds.
The Nepal Flood Disaster Appeal has been established by a coalition of 15 organisations including Oxfam Australia and Save the Children Australia.
The group, known as the Emergency Action Alliance, warns survivors may find themselves cut off from reliable shelter, food, drinking water and medical care.
It is a fear shared by Kiran Thapa, 46, who told AAP his family in Nepal had survived the floods but the real ‘trauma’ would come once the dust had settled.
The paddy fields his family relies on for food had been destroyed while he worried his elderly mother may not have access to medication.
‘After a few weeks or so, when they come to the realisation they’ve lost everything … that may be very hard for them to digest,’ he said.
The Australian Red Cross has announced all donations to its global emergency fund from Thursday would go to Nepal, while World Vision Australia has launched a dedicated appeal.
UNICEF is appealing for $US17.2 million to fund its emergency relief and recovery efforts, including for the estimated 17,000 children affected.
Impacting recovery efforts are fears of possible further flooding, which reportedly delayed a Chinese rescue operation on Friday.
