Family of Virginia man last heard from at Nepal-Tibet border just before flood hit desperate for info

August 28, 2026 / 10:03 AM EDT / CBS News

Anil Goel was among about 10 U.S. nationals at the Rasuwagadhi immigration checkpoint on Nepal's border with Tibet Wednesday morning just before a torrent of mud and floodwater swept away the facility and everything around it.

On Friday, the 67-year-old Northern Virginia resident and former World Bank employee's family was still desperate for information on his whereabouts, as the death toll from the devastating floods and mudslides along the Nepal-Tibet border climbed, and at least 1,400 people remained missing.

"We have a photo of our father with his group from the border crossing," Anurag Goel, Anil Goel's son, who works as an engineer in Boston, told CBS News.

The photo sent by Anil doesn't actually show him, but rather at least seven members of the trekking group he was with, posing in front of the immigration office sign. His son believes he may have taken the picture.

Anurag said the family got confirmation that his father's visa was approved at the checkpoint at 8:35 a.m. local time.

Just 35 minutes later, all of the buildings in the area were swept away or covered by a wall of mud and water…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/