Actor Manasi Parekh returns home safely after Nepal floods, shares ordeal

Actor Manasi Parekh is finally back in Mumbai after surviving a harrowing journey through China and Nepal, where catastrophic flash floods killed hundreds, swept away roads, bridges and infrastructure, and left thousands missing.

Manasi was caught in the chaos while on her Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage. Stranded amid the floods and landslides, she spent days trying to make her way out of China and into Nepal. Recalling the ordeal, the actor said the past three to four days had been overwhelming and that finally making it out of China felt like "winning a war."

Triggered by a glacier collapse in the Himalayas, the disaster brought parts of the region to a standstill, with the crucial Gyirong Port crossing among the areas badly hit

After reaching home safely, Manasi thanked fans and well-wishers who had reached out to her with messages, calls and prayers in a series of posts on her Instagram Stories. She said the support had helped her through what she described as an extremely difficult few days.

Manasi revealed that a massive landslide in Nyalam, a town in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, had left her and others stranded in their bus for around four hours. Once the road was cleared, they continued their journey towards Nepal by road.

She then spoke about another landslide at the Nepal border. “Then after a long bus ride of 40 miles we reached the border of Nepal where there had been another landslide which we had to walk through as there was no other way for us to make it till the buses waiting on the other side,” Manasi wrote.

The journey did not get easier from there. She described the bus ride to Kathmandu as one of the bumpiest she had experienced. “And then it was the bumpiest bus ride of our lives as we made our way to Kathmandu which was 4 hours away,” she said.

For Manasi, however, the difficult journey was worth it because it meant getting back to Mumbai and seeing her family. “But all this was worth it because it meant coming back to Mumbai, to my family and getting to kiss my daughter,” she wrote.

Manasi Parekh gets emotional as she reunites with family

A video of Manasi's arrival at the airport has also surfaced online and is being widely shared. In the emotional clip, she can be seen reuniting with her husband, singer Parthiv Gohil, and their daughter Nirvi.

The actor appears visibly emotional as she embraces her family after safely making it back home.

Manasi had travelled to China as part of Sadhguru's Isha Foundation's Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage. During the trip, she had shared several glimpses of her journey online, including a video from Mansarovar.

A few days ago, she also posted visuals of the flash floods near Gyirong Port, a key border crossing between Tibet and Nepal, which was later deleted.

Sharing a video of the flooding, Manasi had written that she was supposed to be at the same location the following morning.

“This is what happened. We were supposed to be here tomorrow morning,” she wrote.

In another post, she shared a video from five days earlier showing her being welcomed at the same location.

“I was literally welcomed at this spot five days ago. So warmly! And now the whole place is submerged,” she said.

Manasi had earlier said she was safe

Following the disaster, Manasi had reassured her followers that she was safe in China. She also expressed concern for those affected by the floods.

“Life is uncertain, but what has happened is absolutely heartbreaking. We are constantly praying for the people affected by this tragedy,” she wrote.

The actor added that, by God's grace, she and her group were safe and that the Isha Foundation was working to bring them home and locate people caught in the floods.

Manasi had also shared a post after reaching Mansarovar, describing the experience as deeply personal.

“Sometimes, you just let the experience take over. Words almost feel like a violation,” she wrote, recalling how she meditated on the banks of Mansarovar for 40 minutes.

Flash floods hit Nepal

Manasi's return comes as Nepal continues to deal with the aftermath of devastating flash floods that have affected several areas along the Nepal-Tibet border.

According to an earlier update, at least 77 pilgrims associated with the Isha Foundation were reported missing after the floods struck while the group was returning from Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.

The group was at an immigration office when the disaster unfolded. Videos from the area showed a powerful surge of water sweeping through Gyirong Port in Tibet and reaching the Nepal side of the border.

The scale of the disaster has continued to grow, with the death toll from the flash floods rising to 788 on Sunday as more bodies were recovered. More than 2,500 people were still missing, while rescue teams continued search and relief operations for the fifth consecutive day. So far, 9,435 people have been rescued from the affected areas.

While Manasi has now safely returned to Mumbai, the disaster has left several families waiting for news of their loved ones.

On the work front, Manasi Parekh will soon be seen in Netflix series Chumbak. The show also stars Neena Gupta, Deven Bhojani, Arjun Bijlani, Helly Shah, Sumeet Vyas, Sandeepa Dhar, Delnaaz Irani and Anant V Joshi, among others.