Gift of the Givers has released pictures of the six South Africans, including two couples and two women, who went missing when devastating flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border.
On Thursday, the number of South Africans missing in Nepal’s flash floods rose to six, the country’s tourism board said, as the death toll on both sides of the Nepal-Tibet border climbed past 392.
A glacier collapse in Tibet on Wednesday sent a wall of water and debris through Rasuwa district on Nepal’s northern border, wiping out villages, roads and bridges.
Trekking routes near Syabrubesi, the gateway for pilgrims travelling to Mount Kailash, were cut off.
Nepal police reported at least 392 dead and more than 1,400 missing.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman said the daughter of a missing South African couple had asked the organisation for help, while a tour operator confirmed that a second South African couple was also unaccounted for.
Here are the six South Africans who went missing:
Ladysmith couple
Surendranath Maharaj, 74, and his wife, Anita Devi Maharaj, 67, from Ladysmith, South Africa.
According to information from Gift of the Givers, the couple were last known to be travelling on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage route near the Nepal-Tibet (Gyirong) border when the flash flood and mudslide struck on Aug. 26, 2026.
Image: Gift of the Givers
East London woman
Bavila Ramjee, 43, from East London, South Africa.
She was travelling with Kailash Journeys and was last known to be travelling between Timure and the Rasuvaghadi border when the floods struck.
Image: Gift of the Givers
Pillay couple
Vivaganathan Pillay, 66, and Janet Pillay, 56, are also missing.
The South African couple were travelling with the Alpine Eco Trek & Expedition group and are believed to have gone missing in the floods at the Nepal-Tibet/China border.
Image: Gift of the Givers
Durban woman
Terricia Govender, 33, from Isipingo Beach, South Africa, is also missing.
According to information from Gift of the Givers, she was last known to be travelling with the Isha Foundation on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage route near the Tibet-Nepal (Gyirong) border when the flash flood and mudslide struck on August 26.
Govender was among a travel group that was at the border when an immigration office was washed away in the floods on Wednesday.
Her mother, Linda Govender, told POST that Terricia had embarked on her pilgrimage on Aug. 12 and had been looking forward to the trip for months.
Govender was travelling alone but was part of a larger tour group associated with the Isha Foundation, which was returning from the Mount Kailash Yatra when the disaster struck.
The family was informed by the foundation that Terricia was among those missing.
“She was so excited to be part of the Sadhguru group. She was his devoted follower,” her mother said.
“She was part of the S3 group. She always wanted to visit the birthplace of Lord Shiva.”
The family last spoke to Terricia on Tuesday while she was shopping and sightseeing.
Meanwhile, Sooliman said helicopter surveillance was the only means of access as all roads had been destroyed.
“Landing is not possible as there is no solid ground given the height of the water level,” he said.
The organisation had 11 urban search-and-rescue specialists, four SAPS dog handlers and four dogs on standby.
Its head of search and rescue, Ahmed Bham, was in contact with Nepalese disaster management officials.
“We are in touch with Nepalese authorities.”
“The embassy is prepared to process visas immediately, but we await a formal call for international assistance,” Sooliman said.
Chinese state media reported at least three people dead and 558 missing in Gyirong County in Tibet, 260 of them foreigners.
The tourism board said its list was preliminary and that being named on it did not mean a person had died.
