At least 15 Northern Virginia community members are among the thousands still missing in Nepal after a Himalayan glacier collapse triggered catastrophic flooding, according to Prabha Bhattarai Deuja, founder and president of the PKP Tender Hearts Foundation.

A few dozen people gathered Monday, Aug. 31, in the parking lot of the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax for a candlelight vigil organized by the foundation and George Mason University's Nepalese Student Association. Attendees held signs reading "Stand with Nepal" and "Every Life Matters" around a table of battery-powered candles, flowers and incense, WTOP reported.

"These are friends, these are family, these are colleagues, these are our community members," Deuja said. "We go to the same temple, so yeah, we are devastated."

The disaster began Thursday, Aug. 27, when a glacier collapsed at roughly 5,200 meters in the Himalayas near the China-Nepal border. The collapse sent a flood wave through the Trishuli and Bhotekoshi river systems and triggered a magnitude 5.2 landslide that destroyed houses, roads and bridges. As of Sunday, Aug. 30, at least 734 people had died and more than 3,000 remained missing across Nepal and the Tibet region of China, according to Al Jazeera.

Among the missing are 10 Northern Virginia hikers on a religious pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, seven of them from Loudoun County, WTOP reported separately. PKP member Yojan Gautam told WTOP he has not heard from his uncle or two twin cousins living in Nepal. The uncertainty follows him everywhere, he said, but the most he can do is help the organization spread the word and raise relief funds.

Deuja called on elected officials to send D.C.-area rescue crews to Nepal. Virginia State Sen. Kannan Srinivasan, who represents District 32 in eastern Loudoun County, attended in person. He said he has friends and constituents among the missing.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, who represents Virginia's 10th Congressional District, provided recorded remarks at the vigil. In an interview with WUSA9 on Friday, Aug. 28, Subramanyam said his team is in regular contact with the State Department to support search and rescue efforts.

Donations to Nepal flood relief can be made through the PKP Tender Hearts Foundation at thfva.org.