Around 90 Americans Missing After Deadly Floods Hit Nepal-Tibet Border

U.S. officials said Thursday that roughly 90 American citizens remain unaccounted for, a day after catastrophic flash floods swept through a border region shared by Nepal and Tibet, leaving hundreds dead. The State Department confirmed it has no reports of U.S. fatalities so far, but noted that three Americans have been rescued.

Many of those missing were part of pilgrimages to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a site considered sacred by Hindus, Buddhists, and followers of other faiths. Among the travelers was Venus Rajnikant Patel, a 45-year-old Indian-born U.S. citizen who had recently relocated from St. Louis to Cincinnati to support his family.

Patel's friend, Jolene Gosha, said she and her circle were devastated to learn he had been staying at a hotel along the border when the floods hit. "We're just hoping, hoping that by some chance he was able to climb his way out of it," Gosha said. "I don't want to give myself false hope because I know the reality is that he's probably not with us." She remembered Patel as an avid traveler who loved dancing and often organized surprise flash mobs for friends' celebrations. "He's always smiling from ear to ear," she added. "He'd dance so goofily and didn't care who was watching."

Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru, also known as Jaggi Vasudev, said on X that 77 people returning from Mount Kailash with his Isha Foundation were at an immigration center in Gyirong, Tibet, when the floods struck. The foundation reported that 22 of those 77 individuals were Americans. Isha Foundation, based in India, operates a U.S. retreat center near McMinnville, Tennessee.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Donald Trump said U.S. officials had spoken with Nepalese leaders and offered assistance. He estimated that 50 or 60 Americans were in the area, but acknowledged that a complete accounting had not yet been completed.