The heartbreaking impact of Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods has reached the tri-state area, as nearly 100 missing Americans include beloved residents and family members from New York.
Among those affected are Amita Amin, 67, and Jitendra Manubhai Patel, 63, from Long Island, as well as Tejal Vyomesh Patel, 64, from New Jersey. These individuals were on a spiritual journey with a group of seven when the devastating floods swept through their route, according to a report from Newsday.
“This has been the most harrowing 48 hours of my life,” remarked Aditi Patel, both Tejal Patel’s daughter and Amin’s daughter-in-law, in an interview with the outlet.
Residing on Long Island herself, Aditi Patel recounted how Amin, Tejal Patel, and Jitendra Patel departed from JFK Airport bound for Kathmandu, Nepal’s bustling capital, alongside their travel group on August 22.
Organized by Nepal Trekking Planner, the group’s itinerary began with a brief stay in Nepal before venturing towards Tibet. Their goal was to reach Mount Kailash, a revered site among Hindus, Buddhists, and other spiritual traditions, as detailed in the Newsday publication.
According to Aditi, the group of seven were forced to spend an extra night in Kathmandu after multiple landslides and the breakdown of their tour vehicle prevented the group from crossing the border into Tibet.
Before the floods hit Wednesday, Aditi believes the tour group had entered the immigration building along the country’s border, as that’s where her mother’s Find My Friends location has remained since Wednesday, Aug. 26 — the date of the deadly floods.
“That’s where the story ends, and that’s where the story gets dicey, because we don’t know what happened after they left that building,” Aditi told the outlet.
“Did they actually leave? Did they leave and didn’t get too far, and the flood hit?”
Jitendra Patel last spoke to his son, Sunny Patel, at 8:13 a.m. local time Wednesday before the catastrophic flooding hit.
The flood waters first hit around 8:37 a.m. local time, according to Earth Sky.
“During that call, he told us that he had already cleared Chinese immigration and was in Tibet,” Sunny Patel wrote on a public Facebook post. “We have been unable to contact him since that call.”
“His phone has not reconnected to WhatsApp, and every message sent since then remains undelivered,” he added.
Aditi said she called the hotel the group was supposed to stay at the following night but the manager said the group never checked in.
Since the harrowing flash flooding event tore through the trans-Himalayan nations, Aditi said she has contacted US embassies in Nepal, China and India — as well as the US consulate and several politicians.
Similarly, Big Apple doctor Radhika Sharma said her parents Ramesh, 65, and Neelam, 64, are “missing and unaccounted” for since crossing the Himalayan corridor with the same Nepal Trekking Planner group.
Sharma last spoke to her parents 40 minutes before the harrowing waters hit and told NBC on Thursday that it’s “probably been the worst 24 hours of my life, [and] my brother’s life.”
“We’re just waiting to hear from them, and just any information, honestly,” she said.
In Queens, Dawa Cerpa, owner of A Taste of Nepal restaurant in Jackson Heights, said his uncle has been missing since the deadly torrent of water and mud swept through, CBS News reported.
“It’s very tough in this time,” Cerpa said, adding that he’s tried desperately to reach loved ones by phone.
“Many friends and one of my uncles, two days ago, they are not returning [calls],” he said.
At least 90 Americans have been reported missing since the devastating natural disaster tore through Nepal and Tibet, killing more than 390 people as of Thursday.
The catastrophic flood, which was triggered by a glacier collapse, was described as a “tsunami from the sky” by local officials.
More than 1,400 people remain missing as of Thursday.
Aditi, however, remains hopeful that she will be reconnected with her loved ones despite the phone lines being down.
“I am feeling hopeful that we can still hear good news about every single person who’s missing — not just ours,” she told Newsday.
“That is the hard part, to get that information in such a devastating situation,” she added. “We just want to spread the word.”
“We want to know that they’re OK.”