There are 36 Australians among the thousands of people missing as rescue efforts continue after deadly flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
The number of Australians missing in the Nepal-Tibet flash flooding disaster has fallen to 36, after two further people were confirmed safe on Friday.
It comes after five previously unaccounted for Australians were confirmed safe earlier this week, with one found in Nepal, one in Tibet and three outside the crisis-hit area. A Sydney woman, Cara Severino, 25, was also safely located in Nepal more than two days after the 26 August floods.
The names of the Australians confirmed safe this week have not yet been released.
Pilgrims trekking to a holy site in Tibet make up the majority of Australians who have been reported missing after the deadly flash floods and landslides tore through valleys on the Nepal-Tibet border. Most were travelling with Himalayan Glacier Adventures, Kailash Journeys and the Isha Foundation.
Across Nepal and Tibet, more than 5,000 people have been reported missing and Nepali and Chinese authorities have confirmed that more than 1,000 have died.
Here’s what we know about the Australians who remain missing. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
New South Wales couple Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and Chitra Venkatraman, 46, were among 15 Australians travelling to Mount Kailash on a spiritual trip with the Himalayan Glacier Adventures tour group.
Their son, Akash Venkatraman, said his parents had planned to leave their riverside accommodation in Syabrubesi before it was devastated by flood waters.
Shylaja Muralitharan, 42, Chandresekaran Muralitharan, 47 and their children Ashwin, 14, and Aarush, 11, were also taking part in the Himalayan Glacier Adventures spiritual tour to Mount Kailash when the flood hit.
The parents and two children had been training together for the long walk, Shylaja’s younger sister Vaishnavi said.
She lost contact with the family shortly after their breakfast on the morning of the flood.
Sreedharan Iyer, 52, and Lakshmi Iyer, 50, and their adult sons Rishab Iyer, 23, and Rudhra Iyer, 20, were taking part in the spiritual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash with Himalayan Glacier Adventures.
The Iyer brothers are medical students at the University of Newcastle and members of the West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook cricket club in Sydney’s north-west.
