Shreya Ahuja, a 30-year-old physician living in North Carolina, shares her story about her parents who went missing during the recent floods in Nepal. Just hours before disaster struck, she had spoken with them as they completed a pilgrimage trek to Mount Kailash, heading towards the border.

Shreya recounted, “I tried texting them. I tried calling them. And initially, I wasn’t too concerned. I feel like everyone thinks, what are the chances that they were in that exact spot?”

More than 500 people were reported killed on the Nepal side of the border. Over 1,500 remained missing after nearly 30-foot waves surged down a river between Tibet and Nepal.

Her parents, Deepak and Madhu Ahuja, originally from India, became U.S. citizens and operated a small business in Dallas. They undertook the pilgrimage to celebrate her father’s 60th birthday. Their last known location was the Gyirong border crossing between China and Nepal. Shreya mentioned that CCTV footage showed flooding destroying the building where their group was expected to be.

Now in Washington, D.C. with family, including her grandparents, Shreya described their situation, “It’s essentially been one long day. Haven’t really slept. We’re just really hoping that we can get to them in time.”

She urged people to reach out to local legislators, emphasizing the need for collaboration among India, Nepal, China, and the United States. Shreya also advocated for the authorization of Starlink in Nepal, arguing that deploying those resources could help contact people in affected areas.

The interview was produced and edited by Lilly Quiroz and Adam Bearne, with the digital version edited by Treye Green.