It has been days since deadly flash floods tore through the Himalayan border region between Nepal and Tibet, but for the families of two missing Indian pilgrims, the agony of uncertainty has only deepened. At least 290 Indians are among the hundreds reported unaccounted for after the disaster, which has already claimed 475 confirmed lives, leaving dozens of families clinging to hope and begging for clear information about their loved ones.
Among the missing is 43-year-old Subhrasree Chakraborty, a critical care medical technologist from Kolkata whose lifelong dream was to complete the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, the sacred Himalayan site revered as the home of Hindu god Shiva. For years after the pilgrimage was halted first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by cross-border tensions between India and China, Subhrasree waited for her chance to go. When routes reopened last year, she quickly booked her spot on the tour, leaving her husband Sudipto Bhattacharya at home to follow along via her messages.
Subhrasree’s journey began on August 21, when she boarded the Mithila Express from Kolkata, crossing into Nepal the next day and reaching Kathmandu that same night. For three days, she explored the ancient capital, sending home glowing photos of herself smiling in temple courtyards and posing against the historic architecture of Durbar Square. She told Bhattacharya, a government officer, that the Nepalese countryside was more beautiful than she had imagined, and that she could not wait for the next leg of the trip north.
On August 25, Subhrasree’s group departed Kathmandu by bus for Syabrubesi, a small mountain settlement 122 kilometers north that serves as the primary gateway to the Langtang trekking region and the Mount Kailash pilgrimage route. The 12-hour journey was interrupted by a four-hour delay after a landslide blocked the road, which Nepalese army crews eventually cleared. Even with the setback, Subhrasree told her husband the weather was clear and warm, with only occasional light rain, giving no hint of the disaster that would strike less than 24 hours later.
Early on the morning of August 26, Subhrasree left her hotel just after 7 a.m. local time. She spoke to Bhattacharya by phone shortly after departure, and the pair continued to exchange messages as the group approached the border. At 7:57 a.m. local time (2:27 a.m. GMT), she sent Bhattacharya her final message: a photo of her passport stamped with Nepal immigration clearance, and a note that the group was waiting to cross into Chinese-controlled Tibet. Six minutes later, at 8:03 a.m., all communication stopped.
Bhattacharya says he initially expected the silence, noting that connectivity is notoriously spotty on the Tibetan side of the border. He waited for hours for another update, until mid-afternoon when he saw breaking news of the flash floods hitting the border region. He began calling every number he had for members of Subhrasree’s 30-person group, the tour operator, and the two group managers – none answered. To date, he has received no official confirmation of whether Subhrasree crossed into Chinese territory before the floods struck, whether she was rescued, or if she is among the missing or dead.
“After 08:03am, what happened? We don’t know anything,” Bhattacharya said in an interview. “Have they been rescued? Was this group among those rescued in China? We want to know more. Please get me a list from the Chinese government – missing, dead and rescued. We need an update. What do I tell you? Sleepless nights, working on the phone.”
Subhrasree is not alone in being unaccounted for. Fifty-four-year-old Rina Banerjee, an unmarried private tutor and experienced hiker also from Kolkata, was part of the same pilgrimage group and has not been heard from since the floods. Rina had long dreamed of visiting Mount Kailash, and had gone on multiple mountain hiking trips with her family before, her nephew Dwaipayan Mukherjee says.
Like Subhrasree, Rina’s journey went smoothly until the morning of August 26. The family spoke to her via video call while she stayed in Kathmandu, and she told them she was happy to finally take the trip she had planned for so long. She even shared details of the four-hour landslide delay on the drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi. On the morning of the floods, the tour operator shared a group photo showing Rina outside the Nepal immigration center, already having received her exit stamp.
Since that photo was sent, there has been nothing but silence. “I don’t know whether they crossed the border or not,” Mukherjee said. “Whether they were on the Chinese side or the Nepal side, we are still wondering.”
The Mount Kailash pilgrimage draws thousands of Indian devotees every year, after years of pandemic and cross-border tension halted travel completely. Routes only resumed last year, giving hundreds of long-waiting pilgrims like Subhrasree and Rina the chance to fulfill their lifelong spiritual goal.
Today, both women’s names appear on the Nepalese government’s official list of 537 people missing following the floods. The Kolkata-based tour operator that organized their trip says it still has no information about the fate of the group, leaving their families with no answers and only one unanswered question lingering: did they make it across the border before the floods hit?