Ringing phone: MP family waits anxiously for woman missing since Nepal floods

Mangalore Today News Network

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh), Aug 29, 2026: The family of 50-year-old Toronto-based engineer Swati Bagrecha is anxiously awaiting news of her, four days after losing contact with her near the flood-hit Nepal-Tibet border.

Swati had left Delhi on August 8 as part of a 77-member group from the Isha Foundation for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Her family said they last spoke to her around 9 am on August 26, when massive flash floods struck parts of Nepal.

Her 14-year-old daughter, Anushka, had stayed back in Mumbai with her elder sister, according to the family.

“Her mobile is still ringing, but she is not answering our calls. We are extremely worried about her safety,” Swati’s brother, Dr Prashant Bagrecha, told PTI on Saturday.

Prashant said Swati had reached the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 for immigration formalities, following which all communication with her stopped.

The floods were triggered by a sudden rise in the Bhotekoshi river in Nepal’s Rasuwa region. The floodwaters later flowed into the Trishuli and Gandak river systems, affecting downstream areas.

Prashant said location logs suggested that Swati’s mobile phone was active somewhere near the Chinese border. However, tracing the device has been difficult as the phone number is registered in Toronto.

The family has contacted the Indian and Canadian embassies in Nepal, seeking their assistance in tracing Swati’s whereabouts.

Following the intervention of local MLA Mukesh Tandon, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also spoke to the family and initiated diplomatic and administrative efforts to speed up the search, the family said.

Meanwhile, Swati’s family remains hopeful of finding her safe and reuniting her with her daughter.