No word from Thane couple on first trip to Nepal, kin await clarity

As rescue operations entered their third day in flood-stricken regions near the Nepal-Tibet border, families of pilgrims from Maharashtra remained in the dark about their loved ones, many of whom were untraceable. Among the missing were Thane residents Aparna and Sameer Joshi, who embarked on their first ever trip to Nepal for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.

Sameer's brother, Sachin Joshi, recalled that the last communication from Sameer was a WhatsApp photo shared around 7:30 am on August 26, with the duo working in the services sector. Families have received calls from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's office and tour operator Richa Tours and Travels, yet these have provided minimal new information.

Maharashtra's disaster management department reported that over 290 tourists from the state were stranded in Nepal, with more than 60 of them part of the Kailash-Mansarovar trek organized by Hills and Trails, a Mumbai-based partner of Nepalese agency Richa Tours and Travels. Among the 395 confirmed tourists stuck in Nepal, 105 are making their way back to India while the rest are safely stranded across various parts of Nepal.

Also among those unaccounted for are Thane-based retired IT consultants Rekha and Satish Patankar, who were part of the Hills and Trails group. The Patankars had visited the immigration office around 8:30 am before losing contact, expecting to cross the border the next day. The Patankar family became aware of the floods on Wednesday afternoon, but the severity only became clear after reports of missing tourists started surfacing.

Their children, based in the US, are now trying to locate their parents, while families have taken to social media platforms and WhatsApp groups to share details and coordinate search efforts.