Hindu pilgrims, on arduous trek, among Nepal's missing

A drone view shows a major section of Pasang Lhamu highway washed away along swollen Trishuli river by recent flash floods cutting off Rasuwa district from Nuwakot area, Nepal, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP hide caption toggle caption Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP SOCORRO, India – Two sisters sit on chairs, apparently stunned. In halting sentences, in an Instagram post, they explain: "Our parents Shubhakshi and Sumit were in Nepal," one young woman, who introduces herself as Varnika says, "when the floods hit." Since the devastating floods in Nepal last Wednesday, social media has been awash with appeals from people searching for their loved ones. Most posts include photographs of those missing people, with phone numbers to call for more information. Many had one thing in common: they were pilgrims on a sacred journey to Mount Kailash, a Himalayan peak located in Chinese-held Tibet, and at the moment of disaster they were at, or near to, a once-popular border crossing, one of the worst impacted locations. Deadly incidents at pilgrimages are not unusual: from a stampede at a religious gathering known as the Kumbh Mela in India that killed more than 30 people in 2025, to a pan...