‘So desperately loved’: ADF member among dozens of Australians missing in Nepal floods as families pray for safe return

Dozens of Australians unaccounted for after Nepal-Tibet border floods; families hold onto hope

Wanderstayfinder.com – Massive flash floods and cascading landslides that ripped through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river basins along the Nepal-Tibet border have left dozens of Australians unaccounted for, sending families across Australia into a state of anxious vigil. Nepal police confirmed on Friday that more than 1,500 people remain missing and that 469 deaths have been verified since the waters surged through the region on Wednesday. Among those whose whereabouts are unknown is a member of the Australian Defence Force and two teenage boys from Sydney who were travelling with their parents.

The scale of the disaster is staggering. The Bhotekoshi and Trishuli basins, which drain the high Himalayan terrain straddling Nepal’s northern frontier with Tibet, are prone to sudden, catastrophic flooding when glacial meltwater and monsoon rains combine. When the waters broke through on Wednesday, entire trekking routes, border crossings, and small settlements were swept or buried within minutes. For the Australians caught in the area — many of them on organised religious pilgrimages to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar — the event came with no warning.

A first lifeline: one woman confirmed alive

On Friday morning, one Australian woman who had been listed among the missing reached her family by phone to say she had survived the flood. She was the first of those reported absent to be confirmed safe, offering a narrow but real thread of optimism to the dozens of households still waiting for news.

A father, a brother, a brother-in-law

Karan Bhardwaj, a 40-year-old Brisbane resident serving in the Royal Australian Air Force, was in Nepal travelling with the tour operator Kailash Journeys when the waters struck. His family member Jen, who asked that her surname not be published, described the void left by his disappearance.

“Karan is a dad to my beautiful seven-year-old nephew, as well as a brother, uncle and brother in law. 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.”

For Jen and the rest of the household, each passing hour without contact deepens the fear while also sharpening the determination to keep searching. The Royal Australian Air Force has been notified, though the extent of its operational involvement in the search has not been publicly detailed.

The Muralitharan family: a pilgrimage turned ordeal

Shylaja Muralitharan, 42, her husband Chandrasekaran Muralitharan, 47, and their two sons Ashwin, 14, and Aarush, 11, were participating in a Hindu pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet when the flood struck on Wednesday. The family of four had been part of a group of 15 Australians trekking with the Himalayan Glacier Adventures tour and were planning to push toward an immigration checkpoint on the Tibet-Nepal border shortly after breakfast that morning.

Shylaja’s younger sister, Vaishnavi, said contact was lost shortly after the family finished breakfast. She confirmed that the Muralitharans had been close with other members of the trekking group, many of whom had also flown in from Sydney for the pilgrimage. The group had been training together for weeks to prepare for the demanding high-altitude walk.

“Just like everyone else that’s part of that group, we’re really worried, but hopeful. 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 also asked that her surname not appear in print, added that the family had been preparing for some time because the trek was physically demanding. “They were all working very hard together to make sure they could successfully complete it. We just didn’t expect anything like this,” she said.

She expressed frustration at the difficulty of obtaining clear information about search-and-rescue operations underway in the affected valleys. She has spoken with officials at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“We do want to know what efforts are being made … we’re not aware of what is actually happening there.”

At the border crossing: Sumi Adhikari

Sumi Adhikari, an Australian woman, was at an immigration office at the Gyirong Post crossing when the flood waters arrived. She had been travelling with an Isha Foundation pilgrimage to the region. Her husband, Nava Pandey, has flown to Nepal and is actively seeking information about her location.

A flyer produced by the Adhikari family and published with their permission carries a direct appeal: “She was in the same area when the flood happened. If anyone has seen her or has any information about her, please contact the family immediately.”

Bharat Mangwani: last seen before departure

Bharat Mangwani, 42, was travelling with the Isha Foundation as part of a pilgrimage to Lake Manasarovar when his family lost contact with him on Wednesday morning. His close friend Kushagra Tiwari said Mangwani was last seen at Gyirong before the group was scheduled to depart for Kathmandu and then Delhi.

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 said.

Suhasini Kandimalla: a citizenship ceremony still ahead

Suhasini Kandimalla, a mother of two from Springfield near Brisbane, has also been reported missing. Her sister, Supreethini Kandimalla, said Suhasini was doing the hike with another Springfield local. Although she held New Zealand citizenship at the time, Supreethini confirmed that Suhasini had been approved for Australian citizenship and had planned to attend a citizenship ceremony shortly after her return.

“I don’t know if it was a religious calling for her to do it. But she certainly loved the treks in New Zealand too, and w”

The sentence trails off in the available record, but the sentiment is clear: a woman who found meaning in long walks through mountain country is now somewhere in the wreckage of a border valley, and her family is waiting.

What families are being told

For the dozens of Australian households now in limbo, the practical reality is a combination of consular coordination, local search-and-rescue constraints imposed by terrain and weather, and the slow, grinding pace of information flowing out of remote Himalayan valleys. Nepal’s infrastructure in the affected basins is limited; roads are washed out, communications intermittent, and access to the highest-lying areas depends on helicopters operating in narrow weather windows. Families in Australia have been directed to liaise through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which coordinates with Nepal’s foreign ministry and local authorities.

Until the next confirmed contact arrives, the families of Karan Bhardwaj, the Muralitharan children, Sumi Adhikari, Bharat Mangwani, Suhasini Kandimalla, and the others remain in the hardest position available: waiting, hoping, and refusing to stop believing.