Husband of missing woman in Nepal floods calls for continued search efforts
The husband of a woman missing in the Nepal floods is calling for search efforts to continue, as the international community rallies to support those affected by the disaster. Reshma Patel, from Newcastle, was on a pilgrimage to the Mount Kailash Mansarovar region when the floods struck.
A devastating torrent of water swept through the Nepal–Tibet border region on August 26, leaving a trail of destruction and chaos in its wake. A month on from the flash floods, more than 1,400 people have died and more than 5,500 people remain unaccounted-for, including Reshma Patel, a woman from Newcastle.
Reshma Patel had always dreamed of doing a two-week pilgrimage to the Mount Kailash Mansarovar region in the Himalayas. Rather than taking a helicopter tour, she was determined to do the trip on foot "before getting too old". Her husband of nearly 25 years, Bhavin Patel, agreed to stay home in Newcastle to look after their two school-age children while she was gone.
Search efforts continue
Bhavin Patel believes there is more the international community can do to help find those missing, including his wife Reshma. "I still have hope," he said. "I'll never give up on my hopes she'll be somewhere in a safe place and waiting for someone or myself."
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said the Australian government held grave concerns for the 34 Australians still missing. "We recognise this is a deeply distressing period for families and loved ones," they said. "The Australian government remains committed to supporting their welfare and ensuring they receive accurate and timely information."
Challenges in finding the missing
The exact location of the tour group when the flood hit is uncertain, despite an early report that the group may have been inside the immigration office on the Tibetan side of the border. Mr Patel hopes that his wife and others may be in a safe place, simply undiscovered given the scale of the disaster and complex geography.
Mr Patel travelled to Nepal to look for Ms Patel and the Isha Foundation tour group she was with. He believes they are most likely to be in a remote area on the Tibetan side of the border. With others, he hired a helicopter to look at the area from above and observed places in the Tibetan hills he believes it would be possible to survive.
Call for more help
Mr Patel said he planned to return to Tibet and keep searching when it was possible to access the region on the ground. "We strongly believe that she would be somewhere in Tibet," Mr Patel said.
He said there was more the international community could do to collectively urge the Nepali and Chinese governments to accept more help and keep searching for the thousands of people unaccounted-for. "Overseas countries want to help, but that government will not let them do it," he said. "All of the countries … push the Nepal government, the Chinese government, maybe they can do something."
For now, Bhavin Patel is at home in Newcastle caring for the couple's two school-aged children.