Father-Daughter Duo from India Found Dead in Nepal’s Himalayas After Three-Week Search
Indian tourists missing 3 weeks found dead.
In a heartbreaking conclusion to a three-week search operation across the unforgiving Himalayan wilderness, Nepalese rescue teams finally recovered the bodies of Indian tourists Jignesh Kumar Lallubhai Patel, 52, and his 17-year-old daughter Priyansa Kumari Patel on November 9. The duo had been reported missing since October 20, buried beneath layers of snow in the remote Manang district, where extreme weather had turned their short trek into a fatal ordeal.
The father and daughter had checked out of Gyalzen Hotel in Ngisyang Rural Municipality-4 early that morning, casually informing staff they were heading to visit the nearby Maleripa Monastery in Ward No. 5—just a routine excursion in what should have been a safe, scenic outing. Within hours, however, a sudden and severe snowstorm swept through the high-altitude region, severing all communication and plunging temperatures, leaving no trace of the pair despite immediate efforts by hotel management to raise the alarm with local authorities.
A specialized mountain rescue unit from the Armed Police Force’s Mountain Rescue Training Center in Manang launched an exhaustive search, battling blizzards, sub-zero conditions, and avalanche risks. On November 9, a team led by APF Deputy Superintendent Hira Bahadur GC located the bodies approximately 100 meters above the monastery, trapped under compacted snow. DSP Shailendra Thapa confirmed the identities and stated that full recovery operations, including safe extraction and forensic confirmation, were expected to be completed by November 10.
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The tragedy occurred amid a broader weather crisis that paralyzed Nepal’s trekking corridors in October, with over 1,500 tourists rescued from Manang district alone following heavy snowfall and whiteout conditions. All major routes, including the popular Annapurna Circuit, were officially closed for more than a week, with blockades and stranded groups reported across multiple high-altitude zones, even before Cyclone Montha’s full impact reached the Himalayas later in the month.
As Nepalese authorities coordinate with Indian officials for repatriation and support to the grieving family, the incident underscores the lethal unpredictability of early winter storms in the region. What began as a simple father-daughter pilgrimage ended in tragedy, serving as a stark warning to travelers: even short, familiar paths in the high Himalayas can turn deadly without warning when nature strikes.
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