The people they were traveling with are not.
asserted
they → travel → ?
Mita and Hemant Parikh were part of a group of 47 people on a long-planned spiritual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet.
asserted
Parikh → plan → Tibet
Nearly a month after the flood, the tour company that organized their trip tells CBS News Atlanta that none of the missing families from their group have been found either alive or deceased.
asserted
none → organize → group
Seven guides are also missing.
asserted
guides → miss → ?
All remain unaccounted for.
asserted
All → remain → ?
For the Parikhs, the past month has been spent trying to understand how an ordinary decision — a side trip they almost didn't make — put them on a different road.
asserted
they → spend → road
"That's what we talk to each other every single day," Mita said.
asserted
Mita → talk → other
"Why did we decide this way?"
asserted
we → decide → way
"Everybody has a bucket list, but this bucket list, you don't choose it," Mita said.
asserted
Mita → have → it
"God chooses for you."
asserted
God → choose → you
For Mita and Hemant, reaching it was an opportunity to find peace, meditate, and surrender themselves to their faith.
asserted
reaching → reach → faith
They joined a group of 47 people and soon found themselves surrounded by families from around the world.
asserted
themselves → join → world
Some had gotten to know one another through WhatsApp before the trip.
asserted
Some → get → trip
Others met for the first time after arriving.
asserted
Others → meet → time
Strangers became friends, ate together, prayed, and made plans together.
asserted
Strangers → become → plans
Mita and Hemant said they had even made plans to continue traveling with some of their new friends after the pilgrimage was over.
asserted
pilgrimage → say → friends
Then came an unexpected opportunity.
asserted
opportunity → come → ?
With extra time built into their itinerary, Mita and Hemant decided to squeeze in a trip to Lhasa and Everest Base Camp before rejoining the rest of their group in Saga.
asserted
Mita → build → Saga
It was not the kind of spontaneous decision they typically made.
asserted
they → make → decision
"Usually we argue, or tickets are expensive — no, let's not go," Mita recalled.
asserted
Mita → argue → ?
"But I don't know why we both agreed."
For Hemant, part of the appeal was simply getting close to a place he never expected to climb.
asserted
he → know → place
"Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world," he said.
asserted
he → say → world
"And I said, at least, I cannot climb, but I can go and see from a distance."
asserted
I → say → distance
The couple traveled on with a guide and driver.
asserted
couple → travel → guide
Despite forecasts of heavy snow, they said the weather cleared enough for them to see Everest.
asserted
them → say → Everest
Afterward, they expected to meet their fellow pilgrims in Saga and continue the journey together.
asserted
they → expect → journey
They never got the chance.
asserted
They → get → chance
While the Parikhs were away from the group, a massive
the river valley where their fellow travelers were staying.
asserted
travelers → stay → group
At first, Hemant said, the news did not sound perilous.
asserted
news → say → ?
"Our guide said that, you know, there was a flood," he recalled.
asserted
he → say → ?
"And so I thought … it's not a big deal.
asserted
it → think → ?
They had no idea how bad it was.
asserted
it → have → idea
When they checked it, they found repeated calls and messages from family and friends asking whether they were safe.
asserted
they → check → family
The Parikhs initially thought the rest of their group had simply been delayed.
asserted
rest → think → group
They had limited access to news and faced a language barrier as they tried to understand what was happening.
asserted
what → have → barrier
They waited for the group they were supposed to meet.
asserted
they → wait → group
It never arrived.
asserted
It → arrive → ?
They tried calling their fellow travelers.
asserted
They → call → travelers
No one answered.
asserted
one → answer → ?
The couple said their tour operator eventually flew over the area by helicopter.
asserted
operator → say → helicopter
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
