{"id":1183386,"date":"2026-09-03T00:45:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T00:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1183386\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T00:45:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T00:45:29","slug":"how-do-i-not-crumble-loved-ones-of-australians-missing-in-nepal-tibet-floods-fear-others-are-turning-away-nepal-tibet-flood-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1183386\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How do I not crumble?\u2019 Loved ones of Australians missing in Nepal-Tibet floods fear others are turning away | Nepal-Tibet flood disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Akash Venkatraman\u2019s parents wished him a happy 22nd birthday before they left for Nepal<\/a> on a spiritual pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

Three days later, a glacial collapse sent a torrent of mud<\/a>, water and debris through the Nepal-Tibet border, bursting the banks of the Trishuli River, and sweeping away homes, bridges and roads.<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t heard from them since.<\/p>\n

Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and Chitra Venkatraman, 46, are among 38 Australians who have been reported missing<\/a> after the deadly flash floods and landslides on Wednesday last week.<\/p>\n

The couple and their family friends \u2013 Sreedharan Iyer, 52, Lakshmi Iyer, 50, and their sons Rishab Iyer, 23, and Rudhra Iyer, 20 \u2013 had been taking part in a pilgrimage to the sacred site of Mount Kailash.<\/p>\n

They were staying in riverside accommodation in Syabrubesi with other members of the Himalayan Glacier Adventures tour group the morning the flood came in.<\/p>\n

In the days since losing contact, Akash has cried \u2013 as a psychology student, he knows not to repress his emotions \u2013 but he has also tried to keep going.<\/p>\n

His parents would have wanted him and his 17-year-old brother who is studying for HSC to maintain normalcy, but it is difficult, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if I graduate and they\u2019re not there? What if I get my first job and they\u2019re not there?\u201d Akash says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause everything you do, you do to make them proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a>\u2018That\u2019s my biggest worry\u2019<\/p>\n

Akash\u2019s uncle has now travelled to Nepal to search for clues while he and his brother try to help from home.<\/p>\n

Their family has received an outpouring of support from the community, but as the days pass, Akash worries that Australians\u2019 attention is falling away and that \u201cefforts to find my parents and everyone else with them will also reduce\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst thing that could happen is that they hang on for seven or 10 days and no help comes \u2013 that\u2019s my biggest worry,\u201d he says. \u201cUs losing attention could create that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Thursday, Nepal\u2019s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Agency reported 1,204 confirmed deaths and 4,216 missing persons (including 583 foreigners).<\/p>\n

Police in Kathmandu have urged relatives of missing tourists to provide DNA samples<\/a> to assist with identification efforts.<\/p>\n

Though five Australians previously believed to have gone missing in Nepal have now been confirmed safe<\/a>, the government still holds \u201cgrave concerns\u201d for those still unaccounted for.<\/p>\n

In Kathmandu, the anxiety is palpable. The wall of missing loved ones at the teaching hospital has quadrupled in size. Other hospitals around the city, like the trauma centre, are also filling up.<\/p>\n

People look at photographs of missing people on a wall outside Tribhuvan University Teaching hospital on Wednesday. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha\/Reuters\u2018I can\u2019t\u2019<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Uttam Tamang, 25, was standing outside the National Trauma Centre in Kathmandu, clutching his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are searching for my brother,\u201d Tamang says.<\/p>\n

His brother, 25, was an electrician working at a hydro plant in the upper Ruswian region \u2013 the army has not been able to get in there yet. Now, Tamang spends his days going from hospital to hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just,\u201d he touches his chest. \u201cI can\u2019t,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Relatives search through photographs of missing people at the National Trauma Centre in Kathmandu, one week after flash floods struck. Photograph: Safal Prakash Shrestha\/JNA\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Sita Thapa Magar is standing outside at the teaching hospital \u2013 her younger brother, Anil Thapa Magar, is also missing in a hydroplant tunnel in the upper region. And they, like many other families, are also doing the daily rounds of hospitals.<\/p>\n

She says there has not been enough information from the army about why they haven\u2019t been able to search the tunnels yet.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery day we are looking for information from the government,\u201d Thapa Magar says through a translator. \u201cBut we are not getting much information about the missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we have to come here every day; we give his details. It\u2019s been a week, and still, there is not much information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Still just a crumb\u2019<\/p>\n

As the morgues in Kathmandu fill up<\/a>, a temporary burial site has been set up on the outskirts of the city. While golfers strode around the course next to the forest on Tuesday, police officials laid 85 people from up the valley to rest.<\/p>\n

Police collect DNA samples from relatives to help identify victims at Nepal police hospital on Wednesday. Photograph: Safal Prakash Shrestha\/NurPhoto\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

It is one of many temporary burial sites around the country. DNA samples and photographs are being collected so families can later reclaim their loved ones\u2019 remains.<\/p>\n

In Sydney, Sarada Viswanathan, the partner of Rishab Iyer and a longtime friend of his family, is taking matters into her own hands.<\/p>\n

\u2018I can feel that he\u2019s still here, and he\u2019s trying his very best\u2019 \u2026 Sarada Viswanathan and her partner Rishab Iyer<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old medicine student has set up a search HQ from her Sydney home, where family and friends come together to look for signs of their loved ones.<\/p>\n

They have been monitoring official Nepali websites and calling embassies and nearby hospitals and camps. Every day, they are tracking down the social media accounts of rescued people to ask whether they recognise any of their family members and have liaised with a Jeep vendor company in Nepal so they can track the cars their relatives were driving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still just a crumb, and we\u2019re trying to follow that trail, but we need a lot more crumbs and a lot more help to get us there,\u201d Sarada says.<\/p>\n

\u2018I know that they wouldn\u2019t give up. So I\u2019m not going to give up on them either\u2019 \u2026 Rudhra, Sreedharan, Lakshmi and Rishab Iyer<\/p>\n

Akash and Sarada are calling on the Australian government to increase its military and humanitarian support in Nepal, with their petition<\/a> receiving more than 12,000 signatures.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, announced the government would send a team of specialist drone operators to Nepal and pledged a further $3m in aid, bringing Australia\u2019s total aid package to $11m.<\/p>\n

The Gyirong Port area, where the Iyer family and Akash\u2019s parents were last believed to have been heading towards, was finally opened on Wednesday. Chinese state media reported the road was open from the Tibetan border and rescue equipment could be brought in.<\/p>\n

Sarada\u2019s relatives who are in Nepal have been barred from entering the area by the army, so she is hoping Australia\u2019s official on-foot rescue teams will be able to reach Rishab and his loved ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can feel his energy. Even when I\u2019m sitting here, I can feel him next to me, and I can feel that he\u2019s still here, and he\u2019s trying his very best,\u201d Sarada says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that they\u2019re very strong people, they have a very strong will, and I know that they wouldn\u2019t give up. So I\u2019m not going to give up on them either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Akash could also travel to Nepal to join his uncle in the search effort, but for now he is committed to securing a future for him and his brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next few days is about ensuring that if the worst case happens, how do I not crumble with it?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the worst-case possibility is that I\u2019d have to take care of the family \u2026 and take responsibility for our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Akash Venkatraman\u2019s parents wished him a happy 22nd birthday before they left for Nepal on a spiritual pilgrimage.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1183387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,70,16,15],"class_list":["post-1183386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117204350514591723","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1183386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1183387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1183386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1183386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1183386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}