The tragic impact of the recent flash floods in Nepal is being felt as nearly 100 Americans are reported missing, including several from the tri-state area.
Amita Amin, 67, and Jitendra Manubhai Patel, 63, from Long Island, along with Tejal Vyomesh Patel, 64, from New Jersey, were part of a seven-member tour group on a religious journey to Tibet when the floods struck on Wednesday, as reported by Newsday.
“These have been the hardest 48 hours of my life,” Aditi Patel, daughter of Tejal and daughter-in-law of Amin, told the outlet.
Aditi, who resides in Long Island as well, mentioned that the group departed from John F. Kennedy Airport to Kathmandu, Nepal, on August 22. They spent a little over a day in Nepal before trying to cross into Tibet, intending to visit Mount Kailash, a revered site for various faiths, according to the publication.
As per Aditi, they were forced to stay an additional night in Kathmandu due to landslides and a breakdown of their vehicle, hindering their border crossing into Tibet.
Before the floods, she believes the group was at the immigration building near the border, as her mother’s Find My Friends location has remained there since August 26, the day of the flooding.
“That’s where it gets complicated, because we have no idea what happened after they left that building,” Aditi expressed. “Did they actually get out? Did they leave only to be caught by the flood?”
Jitendra Patel had a conversation with his son, Sunny Patel, at 8:13 a.m. local time just before the flooding began, which hit around 8:37 a.m., according to Earth Sky.
Sunny shared in a public Facebook post that during their last call, his father informed him that he had already cleared Chinese immigration and was in Tibet. However, since then, they haven’t been able to reach him.
Aditi mentioned that she contacted the hotel where the group was meant to stay but was informed that they never checked in.
After the catastrophic flooding, Aditi reached out to various U.S. embassies in Nepal, China, and India, in addition to the U.S. consulate and several political figures.
In a similar situation, Dr. Radhika Sharma said her parents, Ramesh, 65, and Neelam, 64, are also missing after traveling with the same tour group. She expressed to NBC that it has been “perhaps the worst 24 hours” for her and her brother, just hoping for any news about their safety.
In Queens, Dawa Cerpa, a restaurant owner, reported that his uncle has also been missing since the flood disaster.
“This is a tough time,” Cerpa noted, mentioning he’s been trying to reach his relatives without success.
So far, at least 90 Americans have been reported missing due to the flood, which has claimed over 390 lives, with the toll still rising. The disaster, described as a “tsunami from the sky” by officials, was caused by a glacier collapse, with over 1,400 individuals still unaccounted for.
Despite the grim circumstances, Aditi remains hopeful, expressing her desire to hear positive news about all the missing persons.
“It’s incredibly hard to get updates in such a dire situation,” she commented, adding, “We just want to ensure everyone is alright.”
