32 tourists from Kol missing as Nepal flood cuts off contact
Times of India | 27 August 2026
Kolkata/Siliguri/Kalimpong: Thirty-two tourists from Kolkata, 18 women and 14 men who had set out for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage from Kolkata on Aug 19 and were scheduled to cross the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday morning, have been reported missing after efforts to contact them failed in the wake of the Nepal floods. Part of the Kolkata-based tour agency — Chalo Jai Travel Club located on Ho Chi Minh Sarani — the team had entered Nepal via the Raxaul border and were on a 15-day tour. One of them is an NRI, who had travelled from the US for the pilgrimage.
Agency owner Dibyojyoti Basu said the group was in Kathmandu on Tuesday, from where they had sent photos and videos. They reached the immigration office around 8.30 am on Wednesday, after which, all contact was severed.
The average age of the 32 people is above 58, with the oldest being a 68-year-old and the youngest, 26.
Sources said an international travel organisation handles the logistical arrangements for the Mansarovar expedition. Upon receiving news of the disaster, the Kolkata-based agency dispatched a helicopter, but it was unable to land at the site. Contact has also been established with Nepal Tourism and the Indian Embassy in Nepal, but no information regarding the Kolkata tour group was available till reports last came in.
A separate tourist group from Hooghly is also stranded in Nepal. A bus carrying 65 tourists from Arambagh, who left for Nepal on Aug 24, is currently parked at Chetan Park — about 120 km from the primary disaster zone. Although contact was temporarily lost on Wednesday morning, communication has since been restored, and all tourists are reported safe.
In north Bengal, tourism stakeholders are also monitoring the situation closely as several tourists from the region are believed to have travelled to the affected pilgrimage destinations. For Indian pilgrims, the disruption is particularly worrying because Rasuwa is a crucial transit corridor for those heading to Gosaikunda and towards Mansarovar.
News reaching from Rasuwa district across Bengal was that of devastation, anxiety and some lucky escapes.
Taba Sam from Itanagar said people have moved to temporary shelter. “People are staying in tents. My mother lives here and I visit her often,” Sam said, adding that nothing happened to his house and family, but he lost his childhood friend and her sister.
Ganu Magar, who works in Rasuwa, said it normally takes around five-six hours to reach the district from Kathmandu by road, but there is no road access as of now. “I was in Rasuwa until Tuesday and came to Kathmandu at night. One of my brothers and some office staffers cannot be contacted now,” Magar said.
Speaking to from Rasuwa, Babin Baral, who studied in India, said the flood has left the upper villages severely affected, with residents cut off from families.
“While our village has not been directly affected, the upper village has suffered badly. Connectivity has been lost and there is no electricity,” he said.
He said the destruction was particularly severe around Rasuwagadhi, Timure and Syapru Besi, with the impact extending downstream into parts of Nuwakot and Dhading.