Guwahati | At least six families in Assam have contacted the state government’s dedicated help desk after losing contact with relatives working in Nepal, where devastating flash floods have left hundreds dead or missing, officials said on Friday.

The help desk at Assam Bhawan in New Delhi received six distress calls from families seeking information about relatives who were reportedly working in Nepal. Officials said the exact number of people from Assam who may be missing is yet to be confirmed.

Most of the calls were related to people from Assam who were reportedly employed at the Upper Trishuli Hydropower Project in Nuwakot district of Nepal’s Bagmati Province.

“Several people from the state who were reportedly engaged in the Upper Trishuli project are feared missing in the aftermath of the flash floods. Many remain out of contact as we are working to verify details and establish communication while also preparing detailed lists,” an Assam Bhawan official said.

Among those feared missing is Shatadal Nath, a resident of Hindu Block village in Doboka in Hojai district. Nath had reportedly travelled to Nepal around eight months ago in search of work and was employed with a power supply company.

His family said they last spoke to him on Tuesday and have not been able to contact him since. “We spoke to him on Tuesday, but there has been no contact since. We are praying for his safety,” a family member said.

Another worker from Doboka, Gautam Das, who was employed by the same company, reportedly survived the floods and later contacted his family. According to relatives, Das said Nath and at least 14 other workers remained missing after floodwaters swept away their accommodation.

Authorities have not independently verified the claims, including whether Nath and Das were associated with the Trishuli-1 project or another worksite affected by the floods. There was also no confirmed figure available on the number of people from Assam or the wider Northeast who remained missing or uncontactable in Nepal.

The Assam government opened the dedicated help desk at Assam Bhawan on Thursday to assist families trying to trace relatives affected by the disaster. Officials said the desk would coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indian Embassy in Nepal and other agencies to compile and verify information on missing persons.

Concern has also spread to other northeastern states, with Meghalaya activating a helpline through its State Disaster Management Authority to collect information about residents who may be missing or uncontactable in Nepal.

The MEA said on Thursday that 84 Indian nationals had been rescued from flood-hit areas of Nepal, including 63 workers associated with the Trishuli-1 hydropower project and 21 people from Tamil Nadu.

The ministry said efforts were continuing to trace other affected Indians, with contact yet to be established with 290 Indian nationals amid ongoing search and rescue operations. The flash floods have caused widespread devastation in Nepal. By Friday, the death toll had risen to 469, while hundreds remained missing as rescue operations entered their third day.

The disaster struck on August 26 after a reported ice-rock avalanche triggered by a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border unleashed a massive torrent of water, mud and debris downstream through central Nepal.