After the Deluge: 65 to 90 Mostly Indian Americans Unaccounted for After Catastrophic Himalayan Floods

Desperate families in America are awaiting word from loved ones among the 65 to 90 Americans missing after catastrophic flash floods tore through the Nepal-Tibet border region on August 26, 2026, killing more than 670 people and leaving over 3,000 unaccounted for across the Himalayan corridor.

Among those missing are a New York couple on a religious pilgrimage, a Silicon Valley tech worker, and 22 Americans who were part of a group organized by an Indian spiritual foundation when a towering wall of water, mud and rock demolished communities along the Bhote Koshi River at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time Wednesday morning, according to the Nepal Tourism Board and verified news reports.

“It has probably been the worst 24 hours of my life,” said Dr. Radhika Sharma, whose parents Ramesh and Neelam Kumari Sharma remain missing. The couple from New York, ages 65 and 64, were making a religious pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, a peak in Tibet considered sacred by Hindus, Buddhists and other faiths, according to NBC News.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 65 to 66 Americans are among the missing foreign nationals, though U.S. State Department officials told CBS News and CNN that approximately 90 Americans may be impacted, with numbers fluctuating as the situation develops. Five Americans have been rescued so far, according to the State Department.

“The number of Americans among the missing and otherwise impacted by the floods has fluctuated throughout the day, and that officials don’t yet have an accurate figure,” according to ABC News reporting on State Department statements.

The figures represent a significant portion of the more than 700 foreign nationals from two dozen countries reported missing. According to CNN, at least 517 foreign nationals are missing in Nepal, with another 260 missing on the Tibet side of the border.

Victims and Survivors

Among those rescued and now confirmed safe are 52-year-old Anjana Raja and 55-year-old Pattabiraman Venkatesan, who were rescued from the Rasuwa area and are in good health, according to NBC News reporting on Nepal Tourism Board announcements.

However, many others remain unaccounted for. Prabhath Sajeepa, a 48-year-old San Jose resident who works for Pure Storage, is among the missing. According to the San Francisco Chronicle and BBC, Sajeepa has been involved with the Isha Foundation for several years and was believed to be in the flood zone when the waters surged.

“The last we know is they were at the border at 8am, so about an hour before the floods,” Radhika Sharma told the BBC about her parents Ramesh and Neelam Kumari Sharma. “And we are hoping that they made it to the Tibet side.”

She added that she had contacted U.S. embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing but had not received definitive information about their status.

The Isha Foundation Group

Among the most organized contingent of missing Americans are 22 members of a pilgrimage group organized by the Isha Foundation, an organization founded by Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru Vasudev. According to ABC News, the foundation confirmed that 22 of the 77 people on their Mount Kailash pilgrimage were Americans.

“The 22 missing Americans were all adults, and included 13 women and nine men,” according to data the Isha Foundation provided to CBS News. The group’s coordinator told ABC News the organization has been in touch with family members in the U.S.

One confirmed missing American from the Isha Foundation group is Sridevi Vejella, a U.S. citizen whose husband Deepak Dandu told CBS News she was crossing from China into Nepal when the flood hit. Vejella was on the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, which Dandu said was a “lifelong dream” for his wife.

“The foundation told him she was part of a group that was present at the Gyirong Port immigration complex,” according to CBS News reporting.

According to ABC News, three American tourists were among those missing who had been traveling with a Nepali company called Fishtail Tours & Travel. Additionally, Himalayan Glacier managing director Sanket Pandey told The Daily Star that eight Americans were among the group missing from his company.

The Nepal Tourism Board said these individuals had been in the affected Rasuwa region when the floods struck.

The Glacial Collapse

The disaster was triggered by the suspected collapse of a melting glacier, which sent waves nearly 30 feet high cascading down the Bhote Koshi River. The collapse was so violent that seismic monitors initially registered it as a magnitude-4.4 earthquake, according to NBC News.

“When I reached Dhunge bazaar, in half an hour, the flood came and damaged all the market. People were preparing to go to office then,” resident Shoyam Rajbhandari told CBS News. “How many people are missing or dead, we don’t know.”

Videos from the hardest-hit border regions showed people running as the debris flow swallowed buildings and vehicles, devastated towns and settlements, and severed roads, power and communications.

 The State Department acknowledged challenges in obtaining accurate numbers. According to Forbes, “Americans are not required to tell an embassy when they enter or leave a country and the State Department does not have a real-time registry of Americans traveling abroad.”

According to the Associated Press, the death toll Saturday had risen to more than 670 people across Nepal and Tibet. The Nepal Police reported at least 389 bodies had been recovered as of Thursday, according to ABC News, with more than 1,300 people reported missing.

At least 466 injured people have been rescued, according to police statements cited by ABC News.

State Department Response

On Thursday, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that U.S. officials had spoken with Nepalese leaders and offered to provide “anything they want.” Trump said there were 50 or 60 Americans in the area but added that a full accounting had not been completed.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed U.S. solidarity with the Nepali people, saying his department “stands ready to support the government of Nepal with needed humanitarian assistance,” according to CBS News.

However, the State Department acknowledged challenges in obtaining accurate numbers. According to Forbes, “Americans are not required to tell an embassy when they enter or leave a country and the State Department does not have a real-time registry of Americans traveling abroad.”

Forbes noted that “the State Department has historically struggled to confirm numbers in real time” during international crises. During the 2024 Haiti crisis, for example, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said “it’s impossible for us to know for sure” how many Americans were in Haiti because most U.S. citizens don’t register with the government when they travel abroad.

Rescue Operations

The Nepalese army rescued more than 100 people from flood-affected areas through helicopter operations on Thursday, according to Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, cited by CBS News. At least eight foreign nationals were airlifted to Kathmandu, with army teams also evacuating people trapped inside facilities linked to the Trishuli hydropower project.

However, rescue efforts have been hindered by post-flood conditions, lack of connectivity, power and resources, according to CNN. A barrier lake that formed on the Nepal-Tibet border posed additional risks, with Chinese authorities warning that it could breach in coming days, further complicating rescue operations.

The Missing: What is Known

Based on verified reporting from the Nepal Tourism Board and news sources, the following Americans have been confirmed:

**Confirmed Safe (Rescued):**

– Anjana Raja, 52

– Pattabiraman Venkatesan, 55

**Confirmed Missing (Named):**

– Ramesh Sharma, 65 (New York) — traveling with wife to Mount Kailash

– Neelam Kumari Sharma, 64 (New York) — traveling with husband to Mount Kailash

– Prabhath Sajeepa, 48 (San Jose, California) — Pure Storage employee

– Sridevi Vejella (U.S. citizen) — Isha Foundation pilgrim

– Three additional Americans with Fishtail Tours & Travel (names not yet widely published)

– Eight additional Americans with Himalayan Glacier (specific names not yet confirmed)

– Approximately 22 Americans with Isha Foundation pilgrimage (13 women, 9 men; most names not yet publicly released)

The Incomplete Accounting

A complete publicly released list with the names of all 65-90 missing Americans has not been fully published by the Nepal Tourism Board in news reports. Individual names are being released gradually as identifications are confirmed and families are notified, according to news reports.

“The Nepal Tourism Board said that local tourism and law enforcement authorities were ‘working to verify the whereabouts and safety status of tourists and travelers who were in or traveling through the affected areas,'” according to ABC News.

For updated information on missing Americans, the State Department recommends contacting the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu or the Operations Center at the State Department. Americans seeking information about loved ones can also contact the Nepal Tourism Board’s emergency hotline, according to official statements.

The tragedy represents one of the deadliest natural disasters to affect foreign tourists in recent years, with the international community mobilizing rescue and relief efforts as the search for survivors continues in the treacherous Himalayan terrain.