Missing Indian Father-Daughter Duo Found Dead On Snow Covered Mountains In Nepal's Manang District

Manang: The bodies of an Indian man and his teenage daughter, who had been missing since last month, were recovered from a mountain area near a monastery in Nepal's Manang district on Sunday. The Armed Police Force (APF) retrieved the bodies of Jignes Kumar Lallubhai Patel (52) and his 17-year-old daughter from near Maleripa Monastery at Disyang in Manang district. The APF deputy spokesperson, Shailendra Thapa, confirmed the recovery of the bodies from Manang district.

According to reports, the father-daughter duo had left Gyalsen Hotel at Disyang on October 20, informing the hotel staff that they were heading to the Maleripa Monastery. However, they failed to return, prompting the hotel staff to inform the Nepal Mountain Rescue Training School in Manang and seek assistance in locating them. As initial search operations by the training school did not yield results, a trained mountain rescue team led by DSP Hira Bahadur GC was dispatched with rescue equipment.

During the search operation, the team eventually located and found the bodies buried under snow about 100 metres above the monastery. It appears the tourists visited the monastery and then moved further uphill for a better view before the incident occurred, police said. The bodies have been handed over to the local police for paperwork before being handed over to the family members.

Jignes Kumar Lallubhai Patel and his daughter were on a trekking trip to Nepal, and their disappearance had left their family and friends concerned about their well-being. 

The families, who got closure after the recovery of the bodies of the father-daughter duo, have questioned the safety measures in place for tourists visiting Nepal. They raised questions pointing out that the country, which has the tourism industry as a major contributor to its economy, should have measures in place to avoid such incidents and ensure more stringent safety protocols and emergency response systems.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has been informed about the incident, and efforts are underway to facilitate the repatriation of the bodies.