Kollam

A family in Keralam is anxiously waiting for news of a 63-year-old woman who has been untraceable since devastating floods hit Nepal.

Sunanda Manirajan, a native of Paravur in Kollam district, was travelling with a group from the UK in Nepal. She was the only Malayali in the group, according to her relatives here on Tuesday.

The group had reached Delhi from London on August 22 and later travelled by air to Kathmandu. The family was in contact with them until August 25, the eve of the flash floods.

When they could not contact the group later, the family tried their phone numbers and several helpline numbers.

The family then registered the group as missing and informed the Ministry of External Affairs, NORKA and the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. They are also seeking assistance from the British Embassy.

The relatives said steps were reportedly being taken to collect DNA samples from Sunanda's children, who are in the UK, to help with identification if required.

According to information available to the family, her last contact was through WhatsApp at 11.58 am on August 25, which was also recorded as her last active time.

The family has shared her identification details, including that she is 154 cm tall and has dark brown eyes and black hair.

With several days having passed since the disaster, the family continues to wait for information about her whereabouts, hoping she will be found safe.

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The flash floods that triggered near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 swept through northern and central Nepal, killing hundreds, leaving thousands missing and damaging homes, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure.