Australian woman appeals for help in search of boyfriend missing in Rasuwa floods: ‘Tech companies should provide location data’

 Australian woman appeals for help in search of boyfriend missing in Rasuwa floods: ‘Tech companies should provide location data’

An Australian medical student has called on technology companies to provide more assistance in the search for her boyfriend who went missing in Nepal floods. She believes that technology companies should play a more responsible and supportive role in times of disaster by sharing user data to help rescue teams narrow down the search area and locate the missing.

Sarada Viswanathan, 23, has been trying to find out the last movements of her boyfriend Rishabh Iyer and his family for the past eight days. They went missing near the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet.

The whereabouts of Rishabh and his family are unknown after the massive floods that followed the collapse of a glacier in the area. Viswanathan, who works from her home in Sydney’s northwest, said it was difficult to get the necessary information from Nepal. Apple, Australia’s second-largest telecoms company Optus and location tracking app Life360 have all refused her requests to provide location data that could shed light on the whereabouts of the Iyer family.

“We are all trying to piece together the facts of the incident,” Vishwanathan said. “Their phones are probably switched off. They have no way of contacting us. We are really desperate for help.”

More than 1,200 people have died in the August 26 disaster, and more than 4,200 are still missing. Hundreds of foreigners and 38 Australians are said to be among the missing.

Rishabh Iyer, 23, was in his final year of medical school. He had gone on a pilgrimage to the holy mountain of Kailash with his parents and younger brother.

Vishwanathan said she last spoke to Iyer on the morning of August 26. The last known location of the Iyer family, as seen on Apple’s Find My service and Life360, was around the hotel they were staying at, near the Nepal-Tibet border, about 30 minutes before the flood.

According to Viswanathan, relatives of another member of the Iyer family who was traveling with them received information from Nepali authorities later that day that their phone signal was further north, as they used a local Nepali phone number.

However, similar data was not available for those using Australian phone numbers. Optus, Life360 and Apple have declined requests to provide such information, citing privacy and security concerns.

“We want every signal we can get after the flood. We know where they were before the flood, but we have no idea where they went from that 30 minutes before the flood,” Viswanathan said.

“There needs to be a bigger effort to help us, because this is not just a simple case of trying to find out where my partner is. I am trying to save his life.”

Appeal for help from Australian government

In a conversation with Reuters, Optus said it could not comment on matters related to individual customers. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Life360 also said it was inappropriate to comment on ongoing developments, Reuters reported. According to the US company, people in a user's "circle" can see their latest location based on phone tower signals. But people outside the "circle" who have not given permission for their location to be tracked must request it through local authorities, the company said.

Vishwanathan has also launched a signature campaign urging the Australian government to send more manpower to Nepal to help with search and rescue operations. The Australian government has already sent drone experts, consular officers, police and defense personnel to Nepal.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday that she would share telecommunications data with Nepalese authorities. Vishwanathan warned that any delay in the search and rescue could be costly, as the chances of survival are gradually decreasing.

“Some companies are now providing data. But it feels like a little too late. We don’t want the situation to get to the point where it’s really too late,” she said.

Police officer Smriti Bhandari, who is coordinating information on the rescue of foreign nationals, said rescue teams have already searched the area where the tourist group, including the Iyer family, went missing.

“So far, we have not been able to rescue any Australian tourists. We have no information that any Australian tourists have been rescued yet,” she said. “If we receive information that any tourists are trapped there, the rescue officials will go there again.”

Vishwanathan said the search will continue until we get concrete information about Iyer and his family.

“Our efforts have not diminished. Many people may think that we have given up hope, that our efforts have weakened. But in fact, we are working harder than ever,” she said.