BY DEBASHREE CHAKRABORTY
NEW DELHI, KOLKATA | 27 AUGUST 2026
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar convened an emergency high-level review meeting to fast-track the tracking and rescue of 178 Indian nationals currently missing in disaster-struck Nepal. The meeting included the Foreign Secretary, Team MEA, and Indian Ambassadors in Kathmandu and Beijing, focusing on mounting urgent operations in the worst-hit zones.
“Urgent efforts are underway to ascertain the status and well-being of all Indians in the flood-affected areas,” Dr. Jaishankar stated. “MEA is coordinating with various Ministries, State Governments, tour operators and project authorities in this regard. We are working closely with the Nepali side, both on this aspect and on the relief efforts.”
West Bengal Families in Crisis as 32 Travellers Go Missing:
The scale of the disaster has triggered acute panic in West Bengal, with 32 travellers from the state now confirmed missing. Among the untraceable are two managers of the Kolkata-based ‘Cholo Jai Travel Club’ operating out of Ho Chi Minh Sarani. Local administrations are desperately tracking coordinates for several missing citizens, including one resident from Kharagpur, alongside two couples and two other individuals from Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman.
The crisis unfolded as flash floods tore through Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River. Despite the volatile conditions and a strict travel advisory from local authorities, a fresh batch of 40 tourists from Kolkata left for Kathmandu from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Indians Top Missing Persons List; 11 Rescued Safely:
According to the third official data release from the Nepal Tourism Board, the catastrophe has left 644 people missing overall, with Indian tourists making up the largest share of missing individuals, closely followed by local Nepalese citizens.
Disaster management units have issued an active directive warning all international tourists against entering flood-affected sectors. Amid the ongoing rescue operations, the Nepal Tourism Board confirmed that 31 foreign nationals have been successfully pulled to safety so far, a group that includes 11 Indian nationals.
The West Bengal government is in constant coordination with the Nepal Consulate in Kolkata to manage the ongoing crisis and monitor rescue operations. Speaking to The Travel and Tourism Times, Nepal’s Consul General in Kolkata, Jhakka Prasad Acharya, confirmed that top officials from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) at Nabanna have reached out to review the situation in detail.
To aid relief and evacuation efforts, the Consul General has shared emergency helpline numbers for the six hardest-hit regions:
- Rasuwagadhi
- Nuwakot
- Dhading
- Chitwan
- Gorkha
- Tanahu
Acharya assured that the consulate remains in steady communication with the Nepal government to track rescue operations and share real-time updates. He also noted that Buddha Air’s direct flight between Kolkata and Kathmandu operated on schedule today and stands ready to transport stranded passengers.
Sixty-one passengers arrived in Kolkata from Kathmandu today on a Buddha Air flight, according to Uday Shankar Ghosh, the airline’s Kolkata Station official. Ghosh confirmed that the situation in Kathmandu remains normal and that the return flight to Nepal departed with 40 passengers. As the only airline operating direct flights between the two cities, Buddha Air has a maximum capacity of 70 seats per flight. Ghosh added that they have not received any official requests for extra repatriation flights for stranded tourists, nor have they seen any booking cancellations for the coming days.
Meanwhile, West Bengal’s district police and civil administration are working urgently with local authorities and a Kolkata-based travel agency to locate a missing tour group that went untraceable in Nepal. Dibyojyoti Basu, owner of the Ho Chi Minh Sarani-based Cholo Jai Travel Club, confirmed that all communication with the group was lost yesterday. The team had set out on August 21 for a 13-day tour alongside agency managers. Since yesterday afternoon, the agency has been flooded with calls from anxious relatives and is now coordinating with its international partner and the Nepal Tourism Board in Kathmandu to trace the missing tourists.
“Four Indian officials have flown to Kathmandu to coordinate rescue operations with their Nepalese counterpart, Samrat Travels, a agency known for organizing Manas Sarovar tour packages. The team plans to launch a search operation in the upper region of Chitwan tomorrow, though severe weather has blocked rescue helicopters from landing in the affected areas.
Among the missing individuals are Debashish Banerjee and his wife, Sanghamitra Banerjee, residents of Bengal Ambuja Housing in City Centre, Durgapur. Officers from the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC) visited their locked home to gather information from neighbors. A neighbor, Nandita Mani, noted that the couple left for Nepal on August 21, was last tracked near the Tibet border, and was scheduled to reach Manasarovar yesterday. The couple’s daughter and son-in-law, who reside in Mumbai, are coordinating directly with the Indian Embassy in Nepal.”
Concerns grow over missing Durgapur couple:
A retired Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) officer, Arindam Gangopadhyay, and his wife, Moushumi Gangopadhyay, have gone missing from Durgapur. The couple lives in the Tapovan Housing Complex under the jurisdiction of the Bamunara Kanksha Police Station. Their Bengaluru-based daughter, Ankita Gangopadhyay, stated she last spoke with them at 11:30 PM on Tuesday, after which all communication cut off.
Community on edge as tracking goes cold:
The sudden disappearance has triggered deep anxiety among neighbours and former colleagues. Anup Banerjee, a long-time coworker who lives in the same high-rise, noted that the entire residential community is on edge. While locals managed to track the couple’s movements via social media until yesterday, updates have since stopped. “I hope we will get good news soon,” Banerjee said.
A former Kharagpur railway employee Swapan Kumar Saha has also gone missing. His elder brother, Milon Kumar Saha, confirmed that the family—including Swapan’s wife and son—has reached out to the Indian Embassy in Nepal for urgent help.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Jain, writing from Krakow, Poland, posted a desperate social media plea to locate his relatives. He noted they were on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra 2026 and were last traced to Syafru Village (Syabrubesi) before all contact was lost.
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