Families across India scrambled for information on Thursday, 27 August after flash floods in Nepal left dozens of Indian pilgrims and workers missing, with no contact for more than 24 hours. Most of those unaccounted for were on the sacred Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage through Tibet, while others were employed at a hydropower project near the Nepal-Tibet border.

Distress Calls and Silence

Among the most harrowing accounts came from Devki Adhikari, whose relatives — part of a group of 29 people — were caught in the deluge. In a final call before contact was lost, they described clinging to the roof of a partially submerged house after fleeing uphill.

'During a brief phone call, they told me that while climbing up a hill to save their lives, they tried taking shelter at the house of a local which later got partially submerged in the flood. They said they were at the roof of the house and that there was no way they could save themselves... they asked me to take care of the kids, post which the call got disconnected,' Adhikari said, her voice choking. 'There has been no contact after that. In all 29 people had gone there, all of them were known to us. So far, we have not received update on any of them,' she added. Several members of her family in Madhya Pradesh remain among the missing.

West Bengal Families Among the Missing

A couple from Durgapur in West Bengal's Asansol district also went missing during the pilgrimage. Neighbour Sujata Banerjee, who has known the family for 30 years, said: 'We saw in the media that there has been so much devastation. Both husband and wife are still out of touch.'

Siliguri resident Samar Mondal, who was on the same pilgrimage, was last heard from on Wednesday morning. His wife told reporters that her brother-in-law had since travelled to the hotel in Kathmandu where Mondal had been staying, in search of information.

Anita Das, 68, from Howrah, departed for Kailash Mansarovar on 21 August. Her brother-in-law said police visited their home on Thursday to confirm she was listed as missing. The West Bengal government has reportedly assured affected families of assistance. Kolkata residents Debabrata Roy Choudhary and Lekha Choudhary, an elderly couple who also left on 21 August, remain untraceable. Neighbour Dipankar Nandi said: 'We have no information right now...there is a lot of confusion.'

Lopamudra Kundu from South 24 Parganas was travelling through the disaster zone when the floods struck. Her husband, Shubhrijit Sinha Roy, said the family had contacted the Indian Embassy, which confirmed it was tracking her last known location.

Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand Families Await Word

In Tamil Nadu, a 57-member tour group from Trichy was caught in the floods on Wednesday. According to advocate Manoharan, a relative of one survivor, 20 people from the group survived after their bus stalled mid-route, while buses ahead and behind theirs reportedly fell into a gorge. The remaining members of the group are unaccounted for.

From Thanjavur, a pilgrim identified only as the mother of Murali has been missing since she departed for Nepal two days ago. 'We have not received any information about her so far,' Murali said.

Ranjit Howlader, 63, from a tourist group, has been unreachable since Wednesday. His daughter said helpline operators could only confirm that rescue operations were underway.

In Ranchi, the family of an Indian worker employed at a hydropower project near the Nepal-Tibet border has had no contact with him for over 24 hours. His sister-in-law said approximately 200 Indians were working at the same site and appealed to rescue teams to reach the location. 'I have the address where my brother-in-law was staying in Nepal. I am ready to give all the details to the government,' she said.

Rescue Operations Underway, Information Scarce

Authorities confirmed rescue operations are active across the affected region, but communication blackouts and the scale of the disaster have left families with little clarity. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has been in contact with some families, though updates remain sparse. This is among the most significant disasters to affect Indian nationals in Nepal in recent years, with pilgrimage groups, tourists, and migrant workers all caught in the same catastrophe.

As rescue teams work through the affected terrain, families across at least five Indian states — Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and others — wait for any word on their loved ones.