‘We are in absolute pain’: Sadhguru breaks down as 80 pilgrims remain missing after Nepal floods | Video

A deep sense of grief has descended on an Isha Foundation camp in Tibet after 80 members of its pilgrimage group went missing following devastating flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border. The floods swept away infrastructure and affected towns in the region.

Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev broke down while giving an update on the missing pilgrims. He appealed to Indian and Chinese authorities to allow him and a small team of volunteers to travel to Gyirong in Tibet and help search for the missing members.

The group was returning from the Kailash pilgrimage when the floods struck. The pilgrims had stopped at an immigration centre in Gyirong near the Tibet-Nepal border when floodwaters inundated the building.

Sadhguru delivered a message about the disaster and the missing pilgrims while visibly distressed. A video shared on X also captured the sound of his followers wailing in the background.

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Sadhguru seeks permission to reach Gyirong

Sadhguru said he and other pilgrims had been inside the immigration building at Gyirong only a week earlier. He said the building has now been washed away, while 80 members of the group remain unaccounted for.

“We are in absolute pain at losing 80 people from our group in the floods in Gyirong. We have no further information after the floods,” Sadhguru said.

He appealed to the authorities to allow him and a few volunteers to reach the affected area and assist in the search.

“We, along with the families, beseech you to kindly allow us (myself and a few volunteers) to be at Gyirong,” he said.

Sadhguru said the request was being made through the Indian and Chinese embassies, while the American embassy was also working to help secure permission.

“We deeply respect and understand the nature of the rescue efforts and will in no way hamper them. Our only intent is to stand with them and aid in looking for some signs that would help the families,” Sadhguru added.

80 pilgrims remain missing

The missing pilgrims belonged to the S3 group of the Isha Foundation. The group was returning from Kailash when the disaster struck.

Sadhguru said the group had 80 members, including 34 men and 46 women from several countries. The group included 22 people from the United States, 12 from Canada, 11 from Australia and nine from the United Kingdom.

Four pilgrims were from Germany, while France and Nepal had three each. The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain had two pilgrims each. Finland, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia and South Africa had one pilgrim each.

Sadhguru said he had left in the morning to reach the disaster site but could not continue because roads were blocked and telephone connections had snapped. Communication with the affected area had also been cut.

“Looking at the scale of destruction, it looks bad,” he said while weeping and wiping his tears.

The flash floods struck northern Nepal on Wednesday after a massive surge of water, sediment and boulders travelled downstream from the Nepal-Tibet border.

The Nepal Tourism Board said on Thursday that 178 Indian nationals were among those missing after floods hit the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Gorkha districts.