Desperate families of missing foreigners were clinging to hope as they combed hospitals and morgues in search of clues, a week after catastrophic floods tore through Nepal’s Himalayan border region.
Outside Kathmandu’s tourist police headquarters, Sanjeev Rai was trapped in agonising uncertainty.
The 53-year-old American flew to Nepal after learning that his wife, Jiwan Jyoti, was untraceable while returning from a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, the sacred peak revered by Hindus and Buddhists.
“The day I arrived I said, let’s find a helicopter, I’m going to look for her,” Rai said.
But Timure, the village in Rasuwa district where she was when disaster struck, remains inaccessible and dangerous.
Jyoti, an engineer at Intel, had embarked on the journey as a spiritual quest and an adventure to mark her 50th birthday.
Now Rai says he has all but abandoned hope of finding her alive.
“I’m no longer counting on survivors. I just hope the DNA samples will match. I want to be able to mourn.”
According to Nepali police, some 294 foreigners have been rescued, most of them Chinese and Indian nationals.
But 583 foreigners remain unaccounted for, many of them pilgrims who had spent months preparing for the demanding trek around Mount Kailash.
Among them are 77 pilgrims from spiritual leader Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation, including Europeans, North Americans and Australians.
Several of their relatives have travelled to Kathmandu seeking answers, assisted by volunteers from the foundation.
“We go to the Nepali police every day to get information on those who have been rescued. We examine photos... published by the police,” said volunteer Arun Mehta.
Others spend their days visiting hospitals.
But all the members of the group, including three Nepali guides, remain missing until now, Mehta said. — AFP
