Concern is growing for American tourists who traveled to Nepal on a spiritual pilgrimage after a glacier collapse triggered catastrophic flooding, leaving more than 900 people dead.

Nine U.S. residents have been evacuated from the disaster zone since the deadly floods swept across the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said Sunday.

But more than 4,000 people from around the world are still missing, among them 85 Americans who had traveled to the remote Himalayan region to climb Mount Kailash, one of the world’s most sacred peaks.

For Tibetan Buddhists, Mount Kailash is regarded as the center of the universe, and the pilgrimage route around it, known as the kora, is believed to bring devotees closer to enlightenment.

The mountain is also deeply sacred to Hindus, who worship it as the home of Shiva, the god of destruction and transformation, while Jains believe a revered prophet reached salvation after ascending the peak.

Meanwhile, the Tibetan Bon tradition also considers the peak a source of spiritual power.

Scores of Americans – ranging from an eighth-grader from New York to a 60-year-old grandmother-of-four from Atlanta, Georgia – embarked on the pilgrimage this year when the devastating flash floods occurred.

Their loved ones back home say they have now been left without answers about their family members’ whereabouts as the desperate search efforts continue and the US starts to provide aid to the region.

The devastating sequence of events began just after 8.30am local time on the day of the floods, when the earth started shaking along the Nepal-China border.

The US Geological Survey initially detected the shaking as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake but later determined that a massive section of glacier had collapsed.

The United States Geological Survey described the seismic event as an extremely powerful ‘glacial collapse and debris flow’ that caused catastrophic impacts downstream.

As the ice mass plummeted, it was pulverized into a fast-flowing mix of freezing water, debris and rocks that swept down the mountainside into the Lende Khola River, razing villages along the way.

It also completely wiped out the border checkpoints and the Friendship Bridge that connects Nepal to China, which tourists seeking to climb Mount Kailash must pass through.

The Himalayan Glacier tour company has since said that 40 of its pilgrims, including eight Americans, remain unaccounted for.

Tennessee-based spiritual organization Isha Foundation also said 77 of its pilgrims were missing – including 22 Americans.

In a grim update on Saturday, the group said the floods had buried the area under 50 feet of silt and debris. 

‘The immigration office complex has been completely washed away,’ the Isha Foundation posted on X.

‘We were desperately hoping for some positive indication from the site,’ it continued. ‘However, we are deeply pained to share that the devastating findings we have been able to verify so far are not giving us any encouraging indication.

‘We wish with all our hearts that we could offer something more hopeful,’ the group’s organizers added, but ‘everything our teams have seen and everything those closest to the site have shared with us has led us to expect the worst.’

Among those who had traveled with the Isha Foundation was Anil Goel, of Centreville, Virginia, who had trained with his friends for months leading up to the trip.

Others in his group included Mary Sorenson, a 60-year-old Atlanta resident; Prabhath Sajeepa, a 48-year-old father-of-two from California who was seeking a blessing for his ailing father; and VS ‘Bali’ Balasubramanyam, an ardent devotee of Shiva who relocated from New Jersey to India, the Washington Post reports. 

In a video posted online on August 20,  Balasubramanyam could be seen in the back of the crowd nodding in deep prayer as Sadhguru, a prominent Indian guru, explained how pilgrims must walk once they arrive at the peak of the mountain.

‘When you go to Kailash, from the time you start walking, you must see you are walking on the body of Shiva,’ he told the group, demonstrating quiet, respectful steps.

‘It’s not a picnic, all right? Kailash is a phenomena.’ 

The group reached Mount Kailash on August 22, when Balasubramanyam told his sister in a video call that he was having a surreal experience that was difficult to put into words.

His family then thought they would be able to catch up with him and ask him more about the experience upon his return.

Meanwhile, Sorenson sent her son some photos of the brightly colored prayer flags at the base of the mountain, but went into little detail about the experience over text. 

She instead told family she was looking forward to the long flights home so she could gather all of her thoughts to share how ‘truly enlightening’ the experience had been.

Goeb also sent his family a picture of him posing with several members of the tour group in front of the Gyirong immigration facility that would be destroyed just half an hour later.

Separately, Rekha Shashidharan and her 14-year-old daughter, Rashi, told Rekha’s brother, Shekhar Agrawal how they were planning to go to the immigration checkpoint at around noon that day and cross into Tibet. 

‘After that, there was radio silence, nothing, no contact whatsoever,’ Agrawal told CNN. 

Shreya Ahuja, who lives in North Carolina, said she had a similar experience with her parents, Dallas, Texas business owners Deepak and Madju Ahuja, who had finished the pilgrimage for her father’s 60th birthday.

They had told her they were heading back to the border post – but that was the last she had heard from them.

‘I tried texting them; I tried calling them,’ she recounted to NPR. ‘And initially I wasn’t too concerned. I feel like everyone thinks “What are the chances that they were in that exact spot?”‘

Many of the pilgrims had been scheduled to fly back to their home countries the following day.

Instead, their families have been left poring through satellite images of post-flood damage and scouring survivor lists in Nepal. Some have even looked through an online database where Nepalese authorities have uploaded photos of recovered bodies to see if they could be identified. 

Some family members have since been able to piece together information about their loved ones’ last known whereabouts.

Hema Shankar, for example, said she determined that three members of her extended family – Anitha Radhakrishnan, Balaji Venkatachalam and Deepa Balaji – were on a bridge at around 8.15 or 8.30am local time on Wednesday after spotting them in the background of a photo.

‘And after that, we lost contact with them completely,’ she said.

Anurag Goel, Anil’s son, also told WJLA how officials with the Nepalese government were able to ascertain that he went through customs at the border around 8.35am, giving him just about 45 minutes to cross the border and get to higher ground on foot before the flash floods.

‘From my perspective, just from what I’ve researched [that] may not be sufficient,’ he said. 

Riley Wilderson also said he is aware that his mother, Sorensen, was most likely inside the now-decimated Gyirong immigration facility.

Still, he said, he is trying to focus on stories of miraculous recoveries.

‘We hope and pray and believe in a God of miracles,’ he told the Washington Post. ‘If people are being saved, there’s always hope that she can be as well.’ 

But Agrawal, Shashidharan’s sister, has said the experience has left him ‘hopeless’ and like he ‘can’t do much.’

He is now holding tightly to the possibility that his sister and niece were still in the hotel at the time of the flash flood and could be eventually reunited with the family.

‘We are hoping for the best because these kinds of things have happened earlier also, and we have seen cases where people have walked [out] after three days, four days, five days,’ Agrawal said on Thursday. 

‘Right now, the only thing that you can do is be hopeful.’

Yet Anurag Goel told the Washington Post he fears too much time has now passed for authorities to find his father alive.

His main concern now, he said, is whether local authorities are doing enough to treat the remains of the flash flood victims with dignity.

Goel also said he thought the US government should do more to search for or recover missing Americans.

‘Distance shouldn’t diminish the value of American lives,’ he asserted. 

His comment came as the State Department has increased assistance to US embassies in Kathmandu and Beijing.

‘We have activated $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian assistance that includes up to three months of emergency food for up to 10,000 flood-affected households,’ State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told ABC News‘ This Week.

Catholic Relief Services has been tasked with doling out the first half million dollars, but the group’s South Asia representative Senthal Kumar Gurunathan said delivering the aid will be challenging due to the blocked roads.

‘We are actually trying to find alternative roads, safer roads, which can actually help us to get the lifesaving stuff to people,’ he told NPR.

The first deliveries of US assistance arrived Saturday and Sunday, according to the US Embassy in Nepal. It included 500 blankets, 500 mosquito nets, 500 insulating foam sheets for shelter floors and two and a half tons of food. 

The department has also been working with officials in Nepal to assist with search efforts.

‘Our priority is the safety and security of the American people. As you mentioned, the remoteness of this location makes getting reliable information difficult. But our dedication remains,’ Pigott said.

‘Our embassies in Beijing and Kathmandu are working 24/7 to communicate and coordinate with local officials, trying to get reliable information,’ he added.

The historic flooding has destroyed multiple towns and already claimed hundreds of lives, with the death toll expected to rise as search efforts continue.

Terrifying footage of the flash flooding showed enormous plumes of dirt and fast-flowing water hurtling through villages as onlookers ran for their lives.

‘If any American is in the region, please register for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. That is so essential, so we know how to contact you,’ Pigott added.

Australia’s best-paid jobs that do not require a university degree have been identified, with some trade and technical professionals earning close to $170,000 a year.

New SEEK salary data shows heavy diesel fitters sit at the top of the list for high-paying jobs without a degree, with an average income of $167,210, while automotive electricians follow closely on $163,611.

Construction site managers and health care facilities managers are also among the strongest earners, each averaging $151,099, ahead of forepersons, who take home an average of $143,807.

The top 10 is completed by maintenance managers, payroll managers, electricians, licensed aircraft maintenance engineers and marketing managers, highlighting the earning power of skilled and specialist roles.

SEEK chief economist Dr Blair Chapman said the results underline how some of Australia’s most lucrative career paths are open to workers who pursue a trade or vocational route rather than a university qualification.

‘For Australians who prefer hands-on work or want to earn while they learn, these pathways can provide a route into six-figure careers, particularly in technical, trade and operational roles,’ he said.

‘Many of the highest-paying roles that don’t require a university degree still require substantial training, licences or on-the-job experience. 

‘So, these are not low-skilled jobs, but roles where capability is built through formal training and practical experience rather than a university degree.’ 

The figures come as advertised salaries continue to rise nationwide, with annual advertised growth reaching its highest level since February 2024.  

Tasmania led the nation, posting a 5.6 per cent increase over the past year, while New South Wales recorded the slowest growth at 4.3 per cent. 

Construction is among the sectors fuelling salary growth, with advertised salaries in the industry rising 5.2 per cent year-on-year. Mining, resources and energy salaries also increased faster than the national average. 

Mr Chapman said six-figure salaries were largely driven by a shortage of workers with specialised skills.

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‘In trade and technical occupations, the more specialised the skill set, the harder it can be to recruit,’ he said.

‘The mining, resources and energy industries are a major driver of higher salaries in these roles because they rely heavily on skills that take time to develop, and many of the jobs are based in regional or remote areas.

‘Construction demand is also contributing to stronger salaries, especially in roles that combine trade expertise with leadership and delivery responsibility.

‘Ongoing infrastructure work and housing demand are increasing the need for experienced site managers and forepersons who can keep projects on schedule, manage subcontractors and maintain safety standards.’