The 15 Australians were part of a 47-person group on the Himalayan Glacier Adventure and Travel Company’s Kailash tour when the flood struck.
Children as young as 11 were part of the group which is yet to make contact with searchers.
Freddy PawleChris Reason
Devastating Nepal floods leave 34 Australians missing
(Source: 7NEWS)
Video Player is loading.
This is a modal window.
Could not download the video
Error Code: PLAYER_ERR_TIMEOUT
Session ID: 2026-08-27:8e9b334396b67e71a659714b Player Element ID:bc-video-6404107912112-0
A tour group with 15 Australians trekking through Nepal woke on Wednesday morning and were preparing for breakfast when a flash flood tore through the area.
They’re among the hundreds of people missing — 34 of which are Australian — after the torrent of water swept away bridges, buildings and roads across the border of Nepal and Tibet, China.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Devastating Nepal floods leave 34 Australians missing
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
New StapleCurveComfy|
Sponsored
The Habit That Causes Belly Fat After 50Health & You|
Sponsored
by Taboola
The 15 Australians were part of a 47-person group on the Himalayan Glacier Adventure and Travel Company’s Kailash tour when the flood struck.
The company’s founder and CEO Sagar Pandey said two Australian families had travelled in Sydney to join the tour, the youngest of which was 11-years-old.
As practicing Hindus, the trip was spiritually important for the families as it would complete a 14-day pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet — a sacred Hindu site.
“They were excited,” Pandey told 7NEWS, adding: “They were happy even with the kids.”
He revealed the tour group was staying in a five-storey building and were planning to have breakfast at 8.30am, local time.
Padney had contact with the group overnight and had been talking “with them by 8am” only to be followed by radio silence by the time they would have been eating before another day of trekking.
Be the first to know: Add 7NEWS as your preferred news source on Google
Lợi thế giao dịch Tiền thị trường (Pre-Market): Giao dịch Cổ phiếu Mỹ 24/5IC|
Sponsored
“Everyone is missing since then,” he said.
“Yesterday afternoon I went by myself with a rescue team and a helicopter to spot out the location where they stayed that night.
“I have seen that nothing’s left over there.
“All the buildings, all the hotels, all the civilizations, both in the Chinese and Nepal sides have been swept away.”
Padney has travelled the route a number of times, but said there’s “nothing left” after the devastating flood — including the building the group were staying in.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday that desperate attempts are underway to locate the missing 34 Australians.
“The government’s priority is to confirm the whereabouts and welfare of these Australians,” Wong said.
“At this stage, access and information are very limited given the scale of disaster.
“We will do our best, to ascertain whatever information we can.”
However, Wong noted that the “situation is a difficult one”.
More than 160 people have been killed in Nepal by the floods, with several more dying in China.
That figure is tipped to skyrocket over the coming days as rescue teams, supported by international aid efforts, flock the region and scour for those killed or missing.
Desperate rescue efforts have already saved dozens of people, with videos surfacing of the Nepali army winching people to safety on helicopters and lifting them above water levels with construction equipment.
