JUST 10 MINUTES: AN AUSTRALIAN MAN WENT MISSING IN THE NEPAL FLASH FLOODS — HIS FAMILY REVEALS HIS HEARTBREAKING TIMELINE
A missing Australian man from the NSW South Coast had reached the Nepal-Tibet border just 10 minutes before flash flooding hit the region, as the death toll continues to climb.
584 people have died in the natural disaster, and the total number of those unaccounted for spiked to 2400 overnight, with 41 Australians among them.
Michael Keats has been confirmed as one of the missing 41 and had just reached the Nepal-Tibet border just moments before disaster struck, his family revealed in a statement.
Mr Keats’ relatives first thought he was safe, however, quickly learned he was unaccounted for.
“Confusion around the timing of the floods initially led us to believe our beautiful Michael would be safe in Kathmandu, preparing to fly home,” they said in a statement.
Michael Keats, from the South Coast in New South Wales, is one of the 41 Australians reported missing after the floods in Nepal. Picture: Supplied
“Unfortunately, it was confirmed relatively quickly by the Isha Foundation that Michael and his Kailash travel group had arrived at Gyirong Port on the Nepal-Tibet border just 10 minutes before the tragic floods hit.”
Mr Keats’ family said their thoughts and prayers are with every person affected by this tragic event.
“We are praying for a miracle for our beautiful Michael. Michael is the most beautiful soul,” they said.
“He is gentle and kind, with a unique light that touches everyone lucky enough to know him.”
His sister, Karen Hayley, said Mr Keats was “a seeker, an adventurer, a truly beautiful soul.” “He travelled to this sacred part of the world on a journey that held such deep meaning for him,” she told followers on social media.
“He is currently missing in Nepal and while our hearts are carrying the unbearable weight of not knowing, we are holding onto hope and praying for a miracle.
“Come home to us, Mike. You are loved beyond words.”
In a separate post she revealed her family had gathered at his “happy place”, in Sydney’s south. A photo showed the family had created a vigil with photos of Mr Keats and candles, and gathered around.
“This is the most surreal experience of my life,” she wrote in a third post.
“Michael is missing, not confirmed deceased yet the grief is already immeasurable. There is still hope and we are holding on to that with everything we have. But at the same time, my heart is trying to comprehend something it simply cannot.”
Meanwhile, Karan Bhardwaj, 40, a Brisbane father and member of the Royal Australian Air Force has been identified as another one of the Australians currently missing in Nepal.
He was travelling with tour operator Kailash Journeys when the disaster hit on Wednesday morning.
“We’re desperately waiting for news and praying with everything we have that Karan is safe and will come home to us all,” his sister Jen Nai told the ABC.
Karan Bhardwaj is a 40-year-old Brisbane-based member of the Royal Australian Air Force missing in Nepal.
Satellite image shows part of the town of Timure, Nepal on July 1, 2026, before the flash flooding. (Photo by Satellite image ©2026 Vantor / AFP)
Satellite image shows part of the town of Timure, Nepal on August 28, 2026, after the flash flooding. (Photo by Satellite image ©2026 Vantor / AFP)
Assistant Foreign Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said Australian DFAT officials are “working around the clock” and getting as close to the region as they possibly can.
“Yesterday, Foreign minister, Penny Wong, had a phone call with the Nepalese Foreign Minister to express our deepest sympathies to the people of Nepal and to offer Australia’s support,” he said.
“As a result, we’ve announced $5m worth of humanitarian aid to support the rescue and recovery and provide vital supplies to the affected communities and to ensure that Australia is doing its bit to help out.
“We’ve also been in touch with members of the Nepalese community here in Australia.”
Minister Thistlethwaite said he attended a vigil at Strathfield on Friday night in unity with the Nepalese community to offer his support.
“Our condolences and to do all we can to get them through this difficult period,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday morning Minister Thistlethwaite said the government was working with crews from the Department of Foreign Affairs to “try and make contact with as many Australians as possible that we know are missing”, as well as family members who had flown in to help with the search.
“We are working with people who are in the region, the Australians that we know,” he told ABC Breakfast.
“The roads are cut off. About 50,000 homes have been destroyed. There is no telecommunications infrastructure to the region. Power has been cut off.
An Aerial view shows debris and mud covering settlements following flash floods on August 28, 2026 in DevGhat village, Nepal. (Photo by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images)
World Vision Nepal teams are on the ground in Nuwakot assessing the devastating impact of the 26 August flash floods. Picture: NewsWire Handout/ World Vision
The moment a flash flood hits a town on the border of Nepal and Tibet on August 26, 2026. Picture: X
“So, our DFAT officials are getting as close as they possibly can to the region and we’re working with those Australians that we know are on the ground there, trying to locate their loved ones, to provide them with as much support as possible.”
Late on Friday, the family of a Melbourne woman shared one of the few pieces of good news out of the region; their daughter was safe, had managed to find a phone and would be trekking for multiple days back to Kathmandu.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said on Saturday that he is joining the chorus of concern for the terrible scenes we are seeing out of Nepal.
“Literally hundreds of people have lost their lives, potentially thousands. I know that there are many who are still missing, including Australians right now,” he said on Saturday.
“Our heart bleeds for them. I imagine their families back in Australia are incredibly worried, and as the days go on, and the prospects of mining have become more and more dim, that anxiety can get worse and worse.
“I want them to know that the people of NSW and Australia are with them.”
An Aussie woman, Cara Servino, has made contact with her parents from Nepal. picture: Facebook
A mud covered woman is rescued from the debris. Source: Nepal Police
Two Nepali Army officers help free a survivor from the mud. Picture Nepali Army X
There are nearly 2500 people still missing. Picture Nepali Army X
Emergency teams have recovered 584 bodies as they work through the disaster area, and Nepal’s disaster authority has added 933 hydropower workers to the list of the missing in Nepal and China, bringing the figure to 2400.
Many of the Australians in the region were on religious pilgrimages. The Nepal Tourism Board has been providing numbers of citizens of various countries who have been rescued; Indians, South Koreans, Chinese, Russians, Americans, Italians and a Bulgarian citizen have been saved.
The official death toll is just under 600. Picture: Nepal Police
Rescue teams rushed on August 27 to find hundreds of people missing on the Nepal-Tibet border in flash floods and landslides. (Photo by Handout / ESN/@ARMED POLICE FORCE OF NEPAL / AFP)
As of late on Friday, no Australians had appeared on the salvation list.
The husband of Newcastle mother Rashma Patel, 46, was expected to land in Kathmandu late on Friday night and begin searching for his wife.
A family friend of the NSW family, Chin Valsan, said Ms Patel was about to finish her pilgrimage when the disaster struck on Wednesday, and she had not been heard from since.
Bhavin Patel flew NSW on Friday morning.
“He’s putting up a brave face for his kids but on the inside, he must be so distressed,” their friend told the ABC.
Ms Patel was one of 11 Australians trekking to Mount Kailash and checked in with immigration at the Tibet-Nepal border very shortly before the area was flooded.
Many of the most-damaged areas are now only accessible by helicopter.
But on Friday rescue efforts in one area were stopped for 90 minutes as a lake, created by the falling chunk of glacier which started the disaster, burst its banks.
‘Running for their life’
Sharmina da Manandhar from UNICEF told the ABC the scale of the recovery efforts is “seismic” and international help is urgently needed.
“We are working very closely with the people of Nepal and doing everything we can to ensure children are protected, they have safe, they have safe water, they have the basic supplies, like hygiene materials that they require, so we are doing everything we can,” she said on Saturday morning.
However, Ms Manandhar said their concerns about ongoing risks of further flooding remain high.
“Yes, we are aware of the risk, and we have heard reports regarding this, so this just highlights the need to reach at effected children and families as soon as possible,” she said.
“They require the support and we need to reach them as soon as possible.”
Ms Manandhar described the situation as dire, and said dozens of people including women and children were sheltering inside one small school.
“They are staying there. They don’t have anything. Imagine having to run for your life and you don’t have a moment to pick up anything that you require,” she said.
“They were just running for their life. They only have the clothes on their back, they don’t have anything.
Recovery efforts are underway as families begin rebuilding and restoring daily life. Picture: NewsWire Handout/ World Vision
Flood-affected communities in Rasuwa are facing significant damage to homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods. Picture: NewsWire Handout/ World Vision
“There are women who are on their periods and young girls there saying they don’t have the hygiene supplies, so UNICEF yesterday dispatched hygiene kits.
“The basic things of health care, have been wash add way. Schoolchildren have washed school supplies, pencils book, everything they had – everything has gone.”
More to come
SOURCE: NEWS.COM.AU
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/nepal-death-toll-hits-584-as-number-of-missing-spikes-to-2400-including-38-australians/news-story/199b3f7259e9cdab02b37564186da890
