Nepal flood death toll rises to 359, rescuers search for 1,400 missing people

Mallinath Kolkundi, a 50-year-old pilgrim from Karnataka, recounted his miraculous survival during the recent flash floods in Nepal on Wednesday. The duo, along with Sangamesh, 30, were en route from Kathmandu to Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region near Mount Kailash when disaster struck. The massive flash floods, which have now claimed over 350 lives and left many others missing, including several Indian pilgrims, swept away everything in their path.

Mallinath and Sangamesh narrowly escaped the flood zone while their vehicle was just 200 meters away from the disaster. The duo's bus driver immediately made a sharp turn, rushing to higher ground, which turned out to be a life-saving maneuver. The relentless flood, characterized by a torrent of mud, water, rocks, and ice, ravaged a stretch of up to 64 km, obliterating hotels, roads, and border infrastructure.

Two buses ahead of them were completely washed away, leaving no trace of the vehicles or their occupants. Mallinath and Sangamesh are currently stranded, awaiting the restoration of road connectivity to return home. Among the missing is Rakesh Naik, a Dharwad native residing in Australia, who was part of an Isha Foundation contingent on the Mansarovar circuit.

Rakesh was returning from the pilgrimage when he called his family, expressing his intention to reach Kathmandu by morning and fly to Australia. He was believed to have been inside the border immigration centre when the floods hit, a structure that was entirely destroyed. His relatives in Australia and Dharwad are urgently seeking assistance from the government.

Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara confirmed that Karnataka authorities are actively tracking stranded citizens, with eight people from Bengaluru reported to be in Nepal. Despite severe network outages hampering communication, efforts are underway to provide aid and support to those affected by the tragic floods.