Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug 31: A group of 43 pilgrims from Maharashtra, including residents of Thane, returned to India on Sunday after being stranded amid devastating flash floods and landslides along the Nepal-China border during their Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

The pilgrims, who had travelled through Rudra Tour and Travels, were stranded in the Timure border area shortly after crossing into China. The floods swept away the hotel where they had stayed, with some of its staff members losing their lives, one of the pilgrims said.

Prakash Shantaram Mane, a resident of Kalyan who travelled with his wife Pratibha, expressed relief after landing in Mumbai.

"When we learned that the hotel, where we had eaten our breakfast a little while earlier, had been swept away along with its staff members, we were left completely numb," he said.

Following instructions from Chinese authorities, restrictions were imposed on movement, leaving pilgrims from several countries stranded in Saga, he said.

Some members of the group managed to contact Abhijit Darekar, a close aide of Kalyan MP Dr Shrikant Shinde, and sought assistance. The Maharashtra government's Emergency Control Room and the Thane District Collectorate continuously monitored the location and situation of the stranded pilgrims, a local official said.

Thane Resident Deputy Collector Sandeep Mane, Kalyan Tehsildar Vikas Gardukar and Kalyan Rural MLA Rajesh More remained in direct communication with the group.

The pilgrims, accompanied by nine Nepali tour staff members, eventually returned to Kathmandu on August 29. They boarded a Nepal Airlines flight and reached Mumbai on Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, at least eight people from Assam who were stranded in Nepal after the devastating flash floods of August 26 have been rescued and are being brought back to the state, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority said nine more people from Assam remained missing in Nepal.

The state government is coordinating with authorities in Nepal and the Ministry of External Affairs to trace the missing persons and facilitate their safe return, Sarma said in a social media post.

"I just spoke to eight people from Assam, who have been safely rescued in Nepal," the chief minister said. The rescued persons were identified as Pankaj Verma, Samar Bezbaruah, Gautam Das, Gopal Debnath, Soneswar Narzary, Sarbison Marak, Silva Marak and Elphison Sangma. They were safe and were expected to return home on Sunday, he said.

"Efforts are continuing to trace the others and ensure their safe return at the earliest," Sarma said.

Speaking at a press conference later, he said search and rescue operations were continuing in Nepal and cautioned that the actual number of missing Assamese could be higher than the figures currently available.

"The number of missing persons will be more than whatever list we have. It is because many Assamese people are working in Nepal without providing any information to the state government," Sarma said.

The Assam government, in coordination with authorities in Nepal and the Ministry of External Affairs, is expediting efforts to identify the missing people and bring them back safely.