“On Wednesday around 3.30 a.m., he called us and said they were returning from the pilgrimage.” This was the last communication that the family of 39-year-old Shivaprasad Rakesh Nayaka, a Dharwad native living in Australia, received before he was reported missing following flash floods in Nepal.

Mr. Nayaka was part of an Isha Foundation group that had undertaken a pilgrimage to Manasarovar. According to his brother-in-law, Praveen, Mr. Nayaka arrived in Delhi on August 12 and was part of the “S3 batch”.

As per the original travel plan, the group was expected to reach Kathmandu in the early hours of Wednesday. Mr. Nayaka and others were then scheduled to take an evening flight from Kathmandu to Delhi, from where he was to return to Australia.

However, the flash floods disrupted their journey. Mr. Praveen said Mr. Nayaka was at an immigration centre when the flooding occurred. His wife and two children are in Australia, while his parents and other relatives in Dharwad have been making efforts to seek government assistance to trace him.

An Isha Foundation spokesperson told that the team was in touch with his family.

Meanwhile, another resident, Murali S., who was part of another pilgrimage group, said the situation in Kathmandu was extremely difficult after the floods. “We had returned from the Manasarovar pilgrimage and were staying in Kathmandu when the incident occurred. All the places where we stayed, including hotels and the immigration office, were washed away. We are lucky to be alive,” he said.

We are safe: Haveri group

In a separate development, 12 people from six families from Rattihalli in Haveri district, who were stranded in Pokhara following the flash floods, have sent a video message confirming that they are safe.

In the video, two members of the group said they were travelling from Pokhara towards Kathmandu when residents alerted them about the flash floods. They subsequently turned back and returned to Pokhara.

With highway connectivity severely affected, the group said they had decided to remain in Pokhara for two days before attempting to return.