Six South Africans are among hundreds of people missing after devastating flash floods swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region, destroying villages, roads and bridges and cutting off routes used by pilgrims travelling towards Mount Kailash.
Gift of the Givers has released pictures and details of the six missing South Africans, including two couples and two women, as families wait for news of their loved ones.
The disaster struck on Wednesday, August 26, after a glacier collapse in Tibet sent a wall of water and debris through Nepal’s Rasuwa district. The floodwaters moved through the border area, damaging homes and buildings and washing away key routes between Nepal and Tibet.
Trekking routes near Syabrubesi, a gateway for pilgrims travelling to Mount Kailash, were also cut off.
Nepal’s tourism board said the number of South Africans on its preliminary list of missing tourists had risen to six. The board stressed that the list was preliminary and that being named on it did not mean that a person had died.
Nepal police reported that at least 392 people had died and more than 1,400 were missing. Chinese state media reported at least three deaths and 558 people missing in Gyirong County in Tibet, including 260 foreigners.
The figures remained subject to change as rescue teams tried to reach isolated areas and authorities worked to match missing-person reports with information from tour operators and families.
The Six South Africans
Surendranath Maharaj, 74, and his wife, Anita Devi Maharaj, 67, from Ladysmith, were last known to be travelling on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage route near the Nepal-Tibet, or Gyirong, border when the flash flood and mudslide struck.
Bavila Ramjee, 43, from East London, was travelling with Kailash Journeys. She was last known to be travelling between Timure and the Rasuvaghadi border when the disaster hit.
Vivaganathan Pillay, 66, and his wife, Janet Pillay, 56, were travelling with Alpine Eco Trek & Expedition. The couple were believed to have gone missing near the Nepal-Tibet and China border.
Terricia Govender, 33, from Isipingo Beach, was travelling with the Isha Foundation on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage route near the Tibet-Nepal border.
Govender’s family was previously informed that she was among the missing pilgrims after an immigration office in the border area was caught in the floodwaters.
Her mother, Linda Govender, said Terricia had left South Africa on August 12 and had been looking forward to the pilgrimage for months. Terricia travelled alone but joined a larger tour group associated with the Isha Foundation.
“She was so excited to be part of the Sadhguru group. She was his devoted follower,” her mother said.
“She was part of the S3 group. She always wanted to visit the birthplace of Lord Shiva.”
Terricia’s family last spoke to her on Tuesday while she was shopping and sightseeing. She had also celebrated her 33rd birthday during the pilgrimage.
The family is still waiting for a direct update about her whereabouts.
Rescue Team On Standby
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman said the scale of the destruction had made access extremely difficult.
“Helicopter surveillance is the only means of access as all roads have been destroyed.
“Landing is not possible as there is no solid ground given the height of the water level,” he said.
The organisation has placed 11 urban search-and-rescue specialists on standby, along with four South African Police Service dog handlers and four search-and-rescue dogs.
Its head of search and rescue, Ahmed Bham, was in contact with Nepalese disaster management officials as the organisation waited for permission to assist on the ground.
“We are in touch with Nepalese authorities.”
“The embassy is prepared to process visas immediately, but we await a formal call for international assistance,” Sooliman said.
The rescue team has not yet travelled because a formal request for international assistance had not been made by Nepal or Tibet at the time of the latest update.
Gift of the Givers said it was ready to deploy if permission was granted. The organisation previously sent rescue and medical teams to Nepal after the devastating earthquake in 2015.
Families Wait For Answers
The search is being complicated by the destruction of roads and bridges, the high water levels and the remote location of the border communities.
Helicopters are currently viewed as the most practical way to survey the affected area, but landing remains difficult because the floodwaters have left little stable ground.
The six South Africans were travelling with different pilgrimage and tour groups, meaning their families have had to rely on tour operators, authorities and aid organisations for updates.
The preliminary nature of the missing-person list has also meant that relatives are waiting for confirmation rather than conclusions about what happened to their loved ones.
For the Maharaj, Ramjee, Pillay and Govender families, the immediate priority is to establish whether the missing travellers have reached safety or remain trapped in areas cut off by the floods.
Sooliman said Gift of the Givers was prepared to assist, but that the organisation needed the relevant authorities to make a formal call for international help before the team could be sent into the disaster zone.
The organisation’s specialists, dog handlers and dogs remain on standby while communication continues with Nepalese officials.
As rescue efforts intensify, authorities are continuing to search for people who were travelling through the border region when the glacier collapse sent water and debris through the area.
The tourism board has cautioned that the list of missing people is not a final record and that inclusion does not confirm a person’s death. Families are therefore holding on to the hope that those reported missing will be found safe.
For now, the six South African families remain separated from their loved ones by thousands of kilometres, damaged roads and a disaster that has left entire communities without reliable access or communication.
