Tamil Nadu: Returning from Manasarovar, they were finishing paperwork. Then the flood struck

CHENNAI: The whereabouts of 49 people, who went on the pilgrimage through a Chromepet-based tour operator, remain unknown.

The group comprised 22 men and 27 women, hailing from various parts of the city and State, including Chromepet, Perambur, Alwarpet, Singaperumal Koil, Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Theni, Namakkal, Erode, Karur, Tiruchy, Salem, and Coimbatore.

They left by flight from Chennai on August 14 through Mahadev Kailash Yatra, a spiritual tourism company located in Radha Nagar in Chromepet, and were scheduled to return on Thursday (August 27).

However, while they were undergoing immigration procedures near the Nepal-China border after completing the pilgrimage, the flash flood struck the area and swept away the immigration office building.

Since then, there has been no information about the 49-member group, leaving their families deeply worried.

The group was led by Sathya Narayanan, the son of the travel company's owner.

Besides him, Vikraman, Manjula, Velavendhan, Rajalakshmi, Amudha, and Kishore are from Chromepet, while Meenakshi, Latha Bhanumathi, Saraswathi, Chandran, Gopal, and Arunachalam are from Kancheepuram.

Around 6 am on Wednesday, Meenakshi and Chandran informed their families that they were travelling towards Nepal. That was the last the kin heard from them.

Fearing for their safety, relatives have appealed to the central and Tamil Nadu governments to take immediate steps to trace and rescue the pilgrims.

Meanwhile, the families of the six Kancheepuram residents submitted petitions at the Kancheepuram Collector's Office, seeking urgent action to locate the missing pilgrims.