Hindu pilgrims, on arduous trek, among Nepal's missing
Devastating floods in Nepal have left hundreds of people missing, including many Hindu pilgrims traveling to Mount Kailash. Authorities are struggling to account for the large number of foreign nationals caught in the disaster.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the increasing vulnerability of religious tourism routes to climate-induced natural disasters in the Himalayan region.
SOCORRO, India – Two sisters sit on chairs, apparently stunned.
In halting sentences, in an Instagram post , they explain: "Our parents Shubhakshi and Sumit were in Nepal," one young woman, who introduces herself as Varnika says, "when the floods hit."
Since the devastating floods in Nepal last Wednesday, social media has been awash with appeals from people searching for their loved ones. Most posts include photographs of those missing people, with phone numbers to call for more information.
Many had one thing in common: they were pilgrims on a sacred journey to Mount Kailash, a Himalayan peak located in Chinese-held Tibet, and at the moment of disaster they were at, or near to, a once-popular border crossing, one of the worst impacted locations.
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