BURST
A Vancouver couple on a sacred pilgrimage through the Himalayan Mountains has been missing since a massive flash flood swept through northern Nepal on Wednesday morning, leaving their family thousands of kilometres away desperate for news.
Megha Shah, 50, and her husband, Dhaval Shah, 52, are among 30 Canadians and permanent residents listed as missing by Global Affairs Canada after the disaster, which has killed more than 350 people and left more than 1,300, including hundreds of tourists, unaccounted for in the region.
“It came out of nowhere,” Keval Shah, Dhaval’s younger brother, said Thursday from Mumbai.
Shah said the couple left for the two-week trek on Aug. 24 and he last spoke with his brother by phone Sunday, when he and his wife reached Nepal.
“He was going to come and meet me after in Mumbai on Sept. 7,” the brother told Postmedia News.
Since the deadly floods, the family has registered the couple as missing with the Canadian Embassy in Nepal and has been trying to gather information through contacts on the ground.
“We’ve been able to connect with some members of the local army, who are trying to help us search,” Shah said Thursday.
The Vancouver residents were travelling with a group of 47 people, including 10 Canadians, on a well-known pilgrimage around the base of Mount Kailash in Tibet organized by Himalayan Glacier Adventures, according to their family.
The travel company said in a social media statement Wednesday that communication with the group was “extremely difficult” after the floods damaged mobile and electrical infrastructure.
“We completely understand how worrying and distressing this uncertainty must be for you and your family, especially with concern surrounding the Kailash Yatra pilgrims who were travelling through the affected region,” the company said in the statement.
Contact with the B.C. couple was lost Wednesday morning after they spent the night at Hotel Kailash in Taimure, near the Nepal-China border. The group was expected to cross into Tibet later that morning.
Shah said the family hopes Canada will take swift action to support rescue efforts and help bring the missing Canadians home.
“We’re all hoping that we will wake up tomorrow and hear news that they found and rescued them,” he said. “Even if they are injured, we just want to get to see them.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney labelled the flood “absolutely devastating” on social media Wednesday, saying that Canada was ready to support continuing rescue efforts. He urged citizens to register with the registration of Canadians abroad system as soon as possible.
“Canadians are thinking of all those in distress right now, those who have lost a loved one and all those who are still waiting for answers,” Carney said.
Global Affairs Canada said Thursday that an additional five consular officials were being sent to Kathmandu to support Canadians, co-ordinate with Nepali and Chinese authorities, and work with international partners and allies in the search.
“Our consular officials are working urgently to establish contact and confirm their safety,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement. She said the department would provide additional resources as needed.
“Rescue, evacuation and verification efforts are underway with the help of travel agencies, trekking companies, guides, local authorities and security agencies,” the Nepal Tourism Board said in a statement Thursday. “The authorities are also working to verify the status of travellers who may have been stranded, displaced or remain unaccounted for following the floods.”
The B.C. couple have a daughter, who stayed home during the trip. Dhaval has lived in Canada for about two decades and works as a cargo-ship captain. He’s also an avid cyclist, his brother said.
“B.C. was the right place for him,” said Shah.
Megha formerly worked in information technology for the City of Vancouver, according to a LinkedIn profile.