Kathmandu
Spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev has sought permission from authorities to travel to Gyirong in Tibet to assess the situation following devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border. He said an 80-member group linked to the Isha Foundation was caught in the disaster and remains unaccounted for, with communications disrupted and roads blocked.
Sadhguru said the group included participants from several countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore. The group had 34 men and 46 women, along with three volunteers and a doctor. He said embassies of countries whose citizens were part of the group had been informed about the situation.
According to Sadhguru, the group leader, Ishanga Praveen, sent a message at 9.05 a.m. on Wednesday saying the group had reached the immigration facility. He said the flash flood struck around 9.14 a.m. The group’s subsequent lack of communication raised concerns that members may have been inside the immigration building when the disaster occurred.
Sadhguru said there was still no official information about the number of casualties on the Tibetan side. He estimated that the wider impact could involve more than 1,500 people. He also said a large part of the affected town appeared to have been swept away, making it difficult to establish the scale of the destruction.
He said he was trying to obtain permission through Indian and Chinese authorities, with support from the US embassy, to travel to the affected area with a small team. Sadhguru appealed to authorities to allow him and a few volunteers to reach Gyirong, stressing that they would not interfere with rescue operations but wanted to support families searching for missing relatives and assist wherever possible.
