Shillong, Aug 29: Pankaj Naug, 50, a British national of Assam origin, has been missing since August 26 after flash flood hit Rasuwagadhi border crossing during his Kailash Mansarovar yatra.
Naug, born in Shillong’s Keating Road and raised in Arunachal Pradesh, son of Himanshu Ranjan Naug of Rukminigaon, Guwahati, had flown to Kathmandu on August 23 via Kathmandu Holiday Tours and Travels. He was carrying British passport No 124570170.
Family said he called his 7-year-old son in London on August 25 evening from Sonam Guest House, 1.7 km from Rasuwagadhi/Gyirong checkpoint, and later called his father in Guwahati saying he had dinner and was going for a walk.
On August 26 at around 8:15 am, he cleared immigration and boarded a bus with his guide waiting for a fellow pilgrim. At around 9 am, a flood triggered by a snow and ice landslide 20 km upstream on the Tibetan side hit Lhende Khola and Bhotekoshi River, swallowing immigration area within seconds.
The family, including wife Monica in London and cousin Shekhar Nag in Guwahati, have contacted Nepal Police. Only resource offered so far is an app showing recovered remains, family said. They have also contacted Isha Foundation members; an 80-member group linked to the foundation is separately reported missing.
The family plans to wait one more day before travelling to Bidur in Nuwakot and towards Rasuwa as routes reopen.
Naug is among 10 from Assam reported missing in Rasuwa. As of August 29, Nepal’s NDRRMA reported 669 bodies recovered and 2,326 missing across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Chitwan and others, including 562 in Rasuwa alone. Among missing are 933 hydropower workers, 85 security personnel, 517 foreign nationals and 127 Nepali returnees. Over 4,451 were rescued, including 191 from the hydropower tunnel.
