In what is shaping up to be a rather inconvenient holiday, a tour operator named Sagar Pandey has revealed he has lost all contact with his tour group of 15 Australians, aged between 11 and 63, who are missing amid the devastating flooding in Nepal. The group is among what a local tourism official believes to be 34 Australians missing in the area, though Australian officials are not yet confirming numbers, preferring instead to frantically check on the welfare of those they know were in the affected region.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has assured that Dfat officials are ready to provide consular assistance, because nothing says 'we care' like a government department standing by. He noted, 'The images are very disturbing indeed. We do know that there are Australians in the area. We don’t know exactly how many.' A sentiment that is both honest and mildly terrifying.

Australians in the affected area are advised to follow the advice of local authorities, which is presumably 'seek higher ground' and 'don't be in Nepal during a flood'. Australian officials are liaising with local authorities and tour operators, presumably to figure out where everyone has wandered off to. We stand ready to provide consular assistance, which, in this context, likely means helping with paperwork once the immediate crisis has subsided.