Virginia family pleads for help as four relatives vanish in Nepal floods

A family in Richmond, Virginia, is desperately seeking information about four relatives who went missing after catastrophic flash floods struck the Nepal-China border region on Wednesday. The disaster has killed hundreds and left more than 2,000 people unaccounted for, including around 90 Americans, according to the U.S. State Department.

Mukti Patel, 27, has been gathered with family and friends at her parents' home since learning that her father, sister, brother-in-law, and her sister's mother-in-law disappeared when the hotel they were staying in was swept away by the floodwaters. Speaking on Friday, she caught herself using the past tense and paused: "I shouldn't talk in past tense yet," she said. "We don't know anything."

Her father, Umesh Kumar, 56, had long dreamed of making this journey. He traveled through India to Nepal, where he was joined by his daughter Akanksha, 32, a psychiatrist dedicated to breaking the stigma around mental health; her husband Ishan, 32, an orthopedic surgeon; and Ishan's mother, Shilpa, 59. The family had called Ishan on Wednesday to wish him a happy 32nd birthday — that was their last contact.

The four were part of a two-week excursion organized by Himalayan Glacier Adventure and Travel Company, which has an office in Baltimore. The group included 40 guests and seven tour guides, all of whom are now missing. Sanket Pandey, the company's managing director, said families joined a Zoom call Thursday night, asking whether they could reach the site and whether their loved ones might be trapped in air pockets. "It's really difficult to have nothing," he said.

Mukti Patel described her sister as someone without "an ounce of meanness," and her father as a joyous person who helped COVID-19 victims. She is now appealing for more countries to join the rescue and recovery efforts. "I want my family to come home," she said.