A British family of four from Surrey, including a 13-year-old girl and her mother, a former Mrs India UK winner, are feared dead after flash floods hit the Nepal-Tibet border earlier this week. The millionaire family from Cobham are among 33 Britons believed to be missing following the disaster.
Businessman Santosh Sahu, 46, his wife Surabhi Manmath Padhy, 44, their son Spandan Sahu, 18, and daughter Syna Kumari Sahu, 13, were reported missing by both the Nepal tourism board and a Hindu news outlet. The family were reportedly on a pilgrimage in Nepal.
Family on pilgrimage to Gosainkunda
The Surrey family were on a pilgrimage to Gosainkunda, the summer after their son left school and just weeks after their daughter's 13th birthday, the Times reports. They had travelled to India last week before heading to the Nepalese-Tibetan trek and were due to return in ten days before the start of the new school year next month.
Speaking to the publication, a neighbour said: "They are a wonderful family who moved to Cobham ten years ago. They are a very happy family, they were good neighbours … it is unbelievable. They are a young family and the son has just got into Durham University."
The neighbour added: "They are very hard working and the father is the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Charac which works closely with the NHS." Mr and Mrs Sahu reportedly ran a successful technology company in London before Mr Sahu set up a pharmaceutical business.
Final photo before the flood
In a final photograph of their group on an Alpine Eco Tours trip, the family can be seen happy and laughing as they pose next to their bus amid the peaks of the Himalayas. The group was last heard from as they crossed from Nepal into Tibet at the exact moment a horrifying 600ft torrent of ice, mud and rocks engulfed the Giyrong border crossing. Harrowing CCTV footage shows people running for their lives.
The family live in a six-bedroom house in Cobham which the Daily Mail reports is worth £1.3million. At least 489 people have died in Nepal, where nearly 1,000 people are missing. At least 558 people are missing in Tibet, where three people have been confirmed dead.
Tour organisers unable to reach family
Tour group organisers have tried to reach the family but to no avail. The Mail reports the phone lines are down and even the military are struggling to reach certain parts of the mountainous area.
