Three more Australians, including a married couple and a Queensland business owner, have been identified among the hundreds missing in Nepal after a massive glacial collapse triggered devastating flash floods.
Venkatraman Balakrishnan, 52, and his wife Chitra Venkatraman, 46, a couple from New South Wales, were on a tour near the Nepal-Tibet border when the disaster struck on Wednesday morning local time. Kanagamah Sundrasan, a mother-of-two and business owner from Queensland, was also among the missing and was on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.
At least 34 Australians are now confirmed missing in the flood-affected region. This includes two families from New South Wales and two boys, aged 11 and 14. One of the families, the Iyers from western Sydney, were also reported missing. Sagar Pandey, founder of Himalayan Glacier Trekking, stated that 15 Australians were part of a group of 47 his company lost contact with following the event in the Rasuwa area.
"To be honest, you would think there was no human civilisation there at all," Pandey told The Guardian, describing the scene after flying over the affected area. "The flash flood swept away everything, everything. You couldn't see any human creations."
Nepalese authorities have reported a death toll of 332, with 910 people missing, including 517 foreigners. More than 350 people have been rescued. The disaster was caused by a massive glacial collapse and ice rock avalanche high in the Himalayas.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is urgently working to ascertain the whereabouts and welfare of its citizens. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has spoken with Australia's Ambassador to Nepal and Ambassador to Beijing, and DFAT crisis response experts are being deployed to the region.
Australians seeking information are advised to contact DFAT's 24-hour emergency hotline at 1300 555 135 domestically, or +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas. China has also deployed rescue teams to assist Nepal Army crews in the affected area.