I was supposed to go: Indian-origin man in tears after wife goes missing in Nepal

A wall of mud and water swallowed a Nepal-Tibet border immigration centre, leaving 80 Isha Foundation pilgrims missing. Among them is Sridevi Vejella, whose tearful husband said the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar was her "lifetime dream" and that he was supposed to join her.The Gyirong immigration building where Sridevi Vejella was when the flash flood struckA wall of mud, rocks and water swallowing the immigration building at Gyirong on the Nepal-Tibet border offered one of the first glimpses of the scale of the flash floods that swept through towns and villages, killing hundreds on Wednesday.Among those at the immigration centre was Sridevi Vejella, wife of Deepak Dandu and one of 80 members of Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation returning from a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake.Not giving up on his wife, US citizen Dandu boarded a flight from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport to Hyderabad. Speaking to CBS News, he said his wife was part of the group and was inside the Gyirong immigration building when the floods swept through it.The group leader had been in touch with the Isha Foundation as they entered the centre, just 10 minutes before the disaster struck. “The communication was completely cut off,” he told CBS News. Dandu said he had remained in constant touch with his wife until Tuesday. She then confirmed that she was on her way back, after which all communication went dark.Sridevi was supposed to return to Hyderabad, where their 13-year-old son, who had accompanied her to India, had stayed back with family. “He is going through a lot, hearing all the news,” Dandu said of his son. “I think he is really upset. I’m trying to go there and be with him.”With tears in his eyes and his voice cracking, Dandu said Sridevi had always wanted to undertake the pilgrimage because it was “a lifetime dream” for her.“Even I was supposed to go, but what to do...I mean, it’s a tough situation,” he said, his eyes welling up.On Thursday, Isha Foundation founder Jaggi Vasudev broke down in tears while announcing to his followers, whose shrieks and cries could also be heard in the background, that 80 members of their group returning from the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra were inside the immigration building moments before it was swept away by the deluge.“This is a terrible and an extraordinary event,” he was seen saying, tears rolling down his eyes, on his YouTube channel.“One of our groups, the S3 group, that we met at Saga and also met when we were trekking up, they were coming down,” he said. The foundation last heard from the group leader nine minutes before the flood hit, he said.“At 9:05 (AM), he sent a message that they have arrived at the immigration. So after that, this happened at 9:14,” he said, adding, “If he had crossed over, his Nepal phone should have come active. It did not come. So literally the entire group was there in the building.”The death toll from flash floods in central Nepal rose to 579 on Friday as more bodies were recovered and search and rescue operations resumed at full pace after a brief slowdown. The slowdown followed fears of fresh flooding after water levels rose in the Bhotekoshi river area.The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said rising water levels at the site of the flash flood earlier this week had increased the risk of another flood. “The water level mixed with mud has increased at the same place where the flash flood occurred on Wednesday, and there is a risk of more flooding in the area,” it said.The authority urged people involved in search and rescue operations, as well as those staying in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli areas, to remain highly alert and move to safer places immediately if they faced any risk.The warning came after a massive flash flood swept through Rasuwa and other parts of central Nepal on Wednesday, killing hundreds and causing widespread damage to settlements, roads, bridges and hydropower infrastructure. Nepal Police said on Friday that 579 bodies had been recovered from eight districts, with thousands still missing.According to police, 233 bodies have been recovered from Chitwan district, 154 from Nawalparasi East, 46 from Gorkha and 40 from Dhading. Another 37 bodies were recovered from Nuwakot, 30 from Tanahu, 27 from Nawalparasi West and 12 from Rasuwa. Chinese authorities also said five people had been killed in Gyirong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region.At least 1,924 people, including 86 security personnel, 517 foreign tourists and 127 Nepali travellers, have been missing since Wednesday morning, when the flash floods hit Rasuwa and adjoining districts.Authorities said 1,545 injured and stranded people had been rescued from various affected regions, while 84 were undergoing treatment at hospitals in Kathmandu, where families were searching for their loved ones.- EndsPublished By: Sayan GangulyPublished On: Aug 28, 2026 23:05 IST