The family of 30-year-old Australian Luke Costanzo are “hoping for a miracle” after catastrophic flooding swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region, with no word from him for nearly a week.
Mr Costanzo is among dozens of Australians still unaccounted for after the disaster, which has claimed more than 1000 lives across Nepal and China and left more than 4400 people missing, including 42 Australians.
The Costanzo family confirmed their son and brother remained missing in a statement issued as the search for survivors continued.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share our dear son and brother, Luke Costanzo, is one of the Australians still unaccounted for in Nepal following the flooding disaster last week,” the family said.
“Luke is an extremely strong, compassionate, disciplined and spiritual person. Once he makes a decision he commits to it fully and he was so excited to be visiting Mount Kailash on a pilgrimage trek with the Isha Foundation.
“Luke’s group was last in contact at the Gyirong port border crossing as they were making their way back to Kathmandu on the final day of their journey.
“We can do nothing but continue hoping for a miracle that Luke, and the others who remain missing, are found alive and well.”
Mr Costanzo’s disappearance comes as the scale of the disaster continues to emerge, with 42 Australians among more than 4400 people reported missing.
It is understood Mr Costanzo is the only person missing from WA at this stage.
It comes as a second Australian was found alive by authorities.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the missing Australian was “safely located” in Tibet on Tuesday.
Their condition and identity have not yet been revealed.
The first Australian death was confirmed yesterday, with NSW man Michael Keats identified as a victim of the flooding.
Mr Keats, from Mollymook on the NSW south coast, had reached Gyirong port with his Mount Kailash travel group about 10 minutes before floodwaters swept through the area.
His family initially believed he had escaped the disaster before learning he was unaccounted for.
His partner, Emily Boyd, said Mr Keats had been a deeply loved member of her family and the only father her young son had known.
“He was . . . my young son’s stepfather. His loss has changed everything for both of us,” Ms Boyd said in a GoFundMe appeal.
She said the family was struggling to comprehend his death while confronting the sudden reality of life without him.
“We are trying to navigate the shock and grief of losing someone we love deeply, while also suddenly having to face life without the person who was such an important part of our family and our household,” she said.
Mr Keats and Mr Costanzo were among Australians travelling in the region on spiritual pilgrimages to Mount Kailash.
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