Sadhguru Breaks Down Over 80 Isha Members Missing After Nepal-Tibet Flash Flood | Video

· Free Press Journal

Isha Foundation founder and spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev, popularly known as Sadhguru, broke down while speaking about 80 members of an Isha group who went missing after a flash flood struck the Nepal-Tibet border region.

Addressing followers at the foundation's camp in Saga, Tibet, China, Sadhguru said the group, which had been returning from the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, was at an immigration facility in Gyirong shortly before the building was swept away by the flood.

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"This is a terrible and an extraordinary event," he said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

Isha group was at immigration minutes before flood

Sadhguru said the missing pilgrims belonged to the foundation's S3 group, which he had encountered during the pilgrimage. According to him, the group had reached the immigration facility after completing its journey and was preparing to cross over.

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"One of our groups, the S3 group, that we met at Saga and also met them when we were trekking up, they were coming down," he said.

He said the foundation received the last communication from the group's leader shortly before the disaster. The leader, whom Sadhguru described as a full-time volunteer associated with the foundation for more than 20 years, had informed them that the group had reached immigration.

"At 9:05 (AM) he sent a message that they have arrived at the immigration. So after that, this happened at 9:14," he said.

Sadhguru added that the leader's Nepalese mobile connection never became active after the reported crossing, raising concerns that the group had remained inside the immigration building when the flood struck.

"If he had crossed over, his Nepal phone should have come active. It did not come. So literally the entire group was there in the building."

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80 pilgrims from several countries remain unaccounted for

According to Sadhguru, the missing group consists of 34 men and 46 women. The pilgrims were from several countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Nepal.

The group included 22 US nationals, 12 Canadians, 11 Australians, nine people from the UK, four Germans, three each from France and Nepal, and two each from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain.

One person each from Finland, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia and South Africa was also part of the group.

Sadhguru further said that three volunteers and a doctor who were staying at nearby hotels had also not been accounted for.

Sadhguru cites reports of hundreds missing in Nepal

Speaking about the wider scale of the disaster, Sadhguru referred to reports from Indian media that 484 people were missing on the Nepal side of the affected region.

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"On this side there's absolutely no information," he said, while cautioning that the overall number of missing people "could be anywhere around 1,500 plus".

He said there was still no confirmed explanation for what triggered the devastating flooding. Among the accounts being circulated were reports of a lake bursting and an earthquake, though he stressed that neither had been established.

"We don't know," he said, visibly emotional as tears streamed down his face.

Efforts underway to reach affected area

Sadhguru said access to the affected region had been severely hampered, with roads and telecommunications disrupted following the disaster.

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He said efforts were being made through diplomatic channels to secure permission to reach the area and establish the whereabouts of those missing.

"We are seeking permission through the Indian embassy and the Chinese embassy in India, and American embassy is working on this," he said.

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