'Please don't give up': Son's plea to find parents missing in Nepal

The family of missing Sydney couple Chitra Venkatraman and Venkatraman Balakrishnan are urgently appealing for intensified search efforts. The couple were on a spiritual tour with Himalayan Glaciers when flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border last Wednesday. A relative of the missing family has urged the Australian government to dispatch additional specialist resources.

The relatives of Australians still missing in Nepal are pleading with authorities to intensify their search to recover the missing individuals. Reports of a second Australian being found alive in Nepal on Tuesday have given hope to the Venkatraman family, who are anxiously awaiting news on their loved ones. However, they fear that as one week passes since the disaster, the focus on finding their loved ones may wane.

Akash Venkatraman's parents, Chitra and Venkatraman, were traveling with a US hiking company when the flood swept through the border. The 22-year-old last spoke to his parents when they were 15 kilometers from the Tibetan border. Akash's family is concerned that the world may move on from the disaster and hopes that the next few days of the search are critical.

Akash's uncle is retracing their last known locations in Nepal, engaging with the embassy and viewing the bodies of the deceased, but information is limited. Akash's uncle urges Australians to contact their local MP or ambassador to maintain the search momentum. Chitra's mother, Sita Swaminathan, passionately urges authorities to find her daughter "at any cost" as she believes her daughter and the others are alive.

Ms. Swaminathan is frustrated by the lack of information and fears her daughter may be without food or water. Akshay Venkatraman, Akash's younger brother, describes his family as heroes and expresses his belief that they are alive. Vaishnavi Kowshikan's sister, Shylaja Muralitharan, was traveling with her husband, Chandrasekaran, and their two sons, Ashwin and Aarush, on the same tour.

Ms. Kowshikan urges the Australian government to not give up on their family and emphasizes the need to continue searching for those still missing.