Madhu and Deepak Ahuja, a couple who have lived and worked in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for over three decades, are among the Americans still unaccounted for after severe flash floods and mudslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border. The disaster occurred on Wednesday, resulting in hundreds of deaths and leaving thousands of people missing across the region.
The Ahujas were traveling home from a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash when the weather event hit. The trip had been organized to mark Deepak’s 60th birthday and to fulfill a long-standing goal of visiting the sacred site. Their daughters, Ashna and Shreya, stated that they last spoke with their parents approximately 90 minutes before the flooding began.
Reports indicate the couple was at the Gyirong Port immigration center near the Nepal-China border when a large volume of water and mud swept through the area. Their phones have since been unreachable, with their last known location reported as near Gyirong.
The family learned of the couple’s status through members of their travel group. Relatives are currently coordinating with authorities and preparing to travel to Nepal, while some family members are already in the region seeking information. Sushil Ahuja, Deepak’s brother, described the situation to CBS Texas as a "whirlwind of emotion."
He expressed the family's hope, stating, "We truly believe that they will be fine... Miracles happen and we truly believe they will be OK."
The flooding and mudslides were triggered by a massive glacier collapse in the Himalayas, which sent water, ice, and debris down river valleys in Tibet and Nepal. This event destroyed infrastructure including buildings, bridges, and roads. Nepal’s disaster-management authorities reported hundreds of deaths, with the number of missing persons in the country rising to nearly 2,000.
