Authorities continue efforts to trace travellers caught in areas affected by the flood
Besides the 57 people mentioned by the authorities on Wednesday, 49 more pilgrims were added to the missing people’s list on Thursday. The group includes nine pilgrims from Chennai who had gone on a Kailash Yatra on Aug 14. Eight are from Coimbatore and 11 from Namakkal, Salem and Erode, including the elder brother of former Namakkal MP A K P Chinraj. As many as 37 of the missing people are aged 50 or above. On Wednesday, Nepal Tourism Board, tourist police and stakeholders released a preliminary agency-wise assessment in which tour operators identified 384 travellers as missing, including 291 foreign nationals and 93 Nepalese nationals.
Disruption of telecommunication and power lines across the affected terrain added to the anxiety of their relatives who have petitioned the state and Union govts for swift rescue efforts. Authorities continue efforts to trace travellers caught in areas affected by the flood.
More than 10 relatives of stranded passengers from Kancheepuram submitted a petition to the district authorities seeking their intervention to ascertain the whereabouts and ensure safety of their family members. Ramesh, a relative of a missing person, said they had been unable to contact the passengers since 8pm on Wednesday (Aug 26). “There has been no direct communication from the missing persons so far due to network collapses.
Based on inputs by family members who approached us, the details of those out of reach have been documented and relayed to the state headquarters, which is coordinating directly with authorities in New Delhi,” he said. The Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils is in contact with the local authorities,” he said “The exact number of missing people from the region is still being ascertained.