Three Kiwi-Indians identified among five New Zealanders missing in Nepal floods
(From left) Suhasini Reddy, Mihir Patel and Kinnari Patel. (Supplied photo)
A mother of two and a couple who operate a dairy store in Hamilton have been named so far.
Three Kiwi-Indians have now been identified among the five New Zealanders reported missing after devastating flash floods and landslides struck near the Nepal-China border.
Suhasini Reddy, 44, who has been living in Australia for the past four years, was earlier named by her family as one of those missing.
Hamilton couple Mihir Patel and Kinnari Patel have now also been identified among the New Zealanders whose whereabouts remain unknown.
The Patels, who own the Best Value Urlich Ave Dairy in Hamilton, had travelled to Nepal ahead of Kinnari Patel’s upcoming 50th birthday.
Their eldest son, Drishya Patel, told RNZ the couple had been away for about a week.
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“They're just on a trip to go visit some of the mountains in Nepal … It's like a pilgrimage of sorts,” he said.
Drishya Patel last spoke to his father the day before the flash flood and said the trip had been going “really good”.
“They were having a good time.”
The last contact from his mother came through WhatsApp at about 5.30am local time from Timure.
“Leaving for Kerung,” the message said.
The family is holding on to the possibility the couple may have already left the area before the landslide struck several hours later.
“As long as like they actually did leave when my mum sent me that message, I'm hopeful. These guys tend to run things on time, these tour guides,” Drishya Patel said.
He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had also been unable to provide the family with further information.
“They don't know anything either.”
Drishya Patel, a medical student, said the uncertainty was becoming harder as the hours passed.
“I don't think I've processed it … realisations slowly setting in as every hour passes, and I don't hear anything, and no one knows anything.”
Reddy, meanwhile, was travelling with a group of friends from Australia through Kailash Journeys when the floods struck on day four of a planned 15-day trip.
Her brother, Rajeev Reddy, told RNZ she was believed to have been in the Dhunche area heading towards the Nepal-China border on Wednesday morning local time.
She was expected to reach Chinese immigration at about 11am, but the family has heard nothing from her since the disaster.
“We really don't know. We've contacted the hotel, the person of contact says she's not there, and at the moment he can't provide any information regarding the checkouts and check-ins,” Rajeev Reddy said.
He had last spoken to his sister the night before the floods, when she was in Kathmandu.
“She was all good, excited,” he said. “She had this trip planned for a while.”
Before the trip, Reddy had visited her parents in India and left her younger son with them. Her other son remains with family in Australia.
“We actually don't know what's happening … we're just saying that she'll be okay,” her brother said.
At least five New Zealanders have been reported missing following the flash floods and landslides near the Nepal-China border. The disaster has killed at least 160 people.
The families have appealed for anyone with information about the missing New Zealanders to come forward.
