Indian pilgrims missing after devastating flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border have left families waiting anxiously for news about their loved ones.
Among them is 43-year-old Subhrasree Chakraborty from Kolkata, who had travelled to the Himalayas to fulfil her long-held dream of visiting Mount Kailash.
Her husband, Sudipto Bhattacharya, received her final WhatsApp message on Wednesday morning.
At 7:57am, Chakraborty sent him a photograph showing her passport after completing Nepal’s immigration formalities.
Six minutes later, she wrote that the group was waiting to enter China.
Then the messages stopped.
Final Message Raises Questions
Chakraborty had travelled with a group of around 30 people for the Mount Kailash pilgrimage.
She worked as a medical technologist in a critical-care unit and had experience dealing with medical emergencies.
According to her husband, she was also physically fit and knew CPR and intensive-care procedures.
However, none of those skills can explain what happened after her final message.
“After 08:03am, what happened? We don’t know anything,” Bhattacharya said.
He believes his wife may have been inside or near the Chinese immigration facility when the floods struck.
Dream Pilgrimage Turns Into Nightmare
Chakraborty had looked forward to the pilgrimage for years.
During her stay in Kathmandu, she sent photographs to her family and told her husband that she was enjoying the scenery.
“She was very excited,” Bhattacharya said. “This was her dream tour.”
She began the journey from Kolkata on August 21.
She travelled by train to Raxaul before crossing into Nepal and continuing to Kathmandu.
After spending three nights in the Nepalese capital, the group left for Syabrubesi on August 25.
Landslide Delayed Their Journey
The journey toward the border was already difficult.
A landslide blocked the road for about four hours before the Nepalese army cleared the route.
Despite the delay, Chakraborty told her husband that the weather remained relatively good.
The following morning, the group left its hotel shortly after 7am.
Chakraborty completed Nepal’s immigration procedures and then waited with the other pilgrims to cross into Tibet.
After that, her family lost contact with her.
Families Desperate for Information
Bhattacharya started worrying after news of the floods appeared.
At around 3pm, he began calling members of the group.
Nobody answered.
He then contacted the tour operator and the two managers travelling with the group. However, he received no clear information.
Now, he wants authorities to provide an official account of what happened.
“Missing, dead and rescued. We need an update,” he said.
For Chakraborty’s family, uncertainty has become the most painful part of the disaster.
Another Kolkata Woman Remains Missing
Chakraborty is not the only Indian pilgrim whose family is waiting for answers.
Rina Banerjee, a 54-year-old private tutor from Kolkata, also disappeared during the journey.
Unlike Chakraborty, Banerjee travelled alone with a tour operator.
Her family last heard from her while she was in Kathmandu.
Her nephew, Dwaipayan Mukherjee, said she appeared happy during video calls.
“She was doing a trip after a long time,” he said.
Banerjee had experience travelling in mountainous areas and had previously gone hiking with relatives.
Border Crossing Remains Unclear
Banerjee’s family also received a group photograph from the tour operator.
The photograph showed her outside the Nepal immigration centre.
Like Chakraborty, she had reportedly received her departure stamp.
However, her family still does not know whether she crossed into China before the floods.
“I don’t know whether they crossed the border or not,” Mukherjee said.
That uncertainty has made it impossible for the family to determine where rescue teams should search.
Hundreds Remain Unaccounted For
The two women are among hundreds of people reported missing following the devastating floods in the Himalayan border region.
Their names appeared on Nepal’s official list of missing people.
However, inclusion on the list has provided little comfort to their families because it does not reveal whether they survived, were rescued or remain trapped.
The Kolkata-based tour operator has also said it has no information about the fate of the group.
Families Demand Clear Answers
For the families waiting in India, the immediate priority is simple: they want confirmed information.
They need authorities to establish who crossed the border, who was rescued and who remains missing.
The disaster has transformed what was supposed to be a spiritual journey into a desperate search for answers.
For Chakraborty and Banerjee’s families, one question continues to dominate everything else: Did the women make it across the border safely?
