A family of four from Surrey, including a 13-year-old girl and a former Mrs India UK winner, are among 33 Britons feared missing after devastating flash floods in Nepal and Tibet. The family were reportedly on a pilgrimage in Nepal when they were caught in the flooding.
Businessman Santosh Sahu, 46, his wife Surabhi Manmath Padhy, 44, their son Spandan Sahu, 18, and daughter Syna Kumari Sahu, 13, are missing. The family, from Cobham, Surrey, were on a pilgrimage to Gosainkunda, the summer after their son left school and mere weeks after their daughter's 13th birthday, the Times reports.
Family's background and last contact
A neighbour told the publication: "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. The family live in a six-bedroom house in Cobham which the Daily Mail reports is worth £1.3 million.
They had travelled to India last week before heading on a Nepalese-Tibetan trek. Their trekking group was last heard as they crossed from Nepal into Tibet shortly before the floods hit the area. Tour group organisers have tried to reach the family but to no avail.
Death toll and missing numbers rise
At least 475 people have died in Nepal, where nearly 1,000 people are missing, while 558 people are missing in Tibet, where three people have been confirmed dead. Nepal's disaster management authority said the number of people killed by the flash floods has risen to 538, while the figure given by Nepali police was 547.
The disaster authority said 977 people were still missing, including 517 foreign nationals. The Red Cross has said as many as 93,000 people may have been affected, with homes destroyed, communications cut and remote areas still unreachable except by helicopter.
Rescue efforts and dam risk
Desperate search and rescue efforts have been halted over fears a dam, which has already overflowed, will burst. Chinese authorities say there is a "high risk" that the barrier lake, formed by a landslide caused by the floods, could break apart and spark a new flood. State broadcaster CCTV said that 2.5 million cubic metres of water had built up behind the landslide near the Nepal-Tibet border, with a million more expected to flow into the lake by the weekend.
The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said river levels rose by up to nine metres in just 30 minutes at the height of the flash floods on Wednesday. The flooding appears to have been triggered by a glacial collapse and debris flow near the Nepal-China border, according to the United States Geological Survey.
