An eighth Australian has been confirmed safe following devastating flash floods in Nepal, reducing the number of unaccounted-for Australians from 36 to 35. The individual, who was in Nepal and had been uncontactable, is safe and well and does not require consular assistance, according to government confirmation on Tuesday. It is understood they were not in the immediate disaster zone.
The Australian government has deployed a disaster assistance response team and specialist resources to Kathmandu to aid in the ongoing search and recovery efforts. Australia has also pledged AUD $11 million to support the disaster response, a commitment described by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as being of national importance.
Meanwhile, Newcastle resident Bhavin Patel has traveled to Nepal and is conducting a personal search for his wife, Reshma Patel, who remains missing. He has chartered a helicopter and utilized phone signal tracking in his efforts to locate her, appealing to multiple governments for assistance.
"She is my life. I am not going without her," Patel stated. He arrived in Kathmandu days after a glacier collapse triggered catastrophic flash floods that inundated towns and villages in the Himalayas. His wife, a Sydney council worker, was en route to Kathmandu after a walking tour in Tibet when the disaster struck on August 26.
She was among a group traveling back to Kathmandu with the Isha Foundation when the immigration building they were near was impacted by the floodwaters. On August 31, Patel chartered a helicopter to survey the site of the building. Roads in the vicinity were destroyed or rendered impassable. From the air, he observed that the structure had been washed away, leaving exposed earth where it once stood. This location was the last point where his wife's phone signal was detected.
Despite the receding floodwaters, the pilot did not permit a landing due to the hazardous terrain. "I felt like... if they give me permission to land, I might rescue her," Patel recounted.
Since returning to Kathmandu, Patel has been meeting daily with local authorities, providing them with images and information to aid their searches. He cited a lack of information from authorities, particularly concerning the Chinese-controlled Tibet border, as a significant impediment to his personal investigation. Patel has called for increased cooperation from Beijing.
"I can feel she's alive, that she's safe somewhere," he said. "Our government is trying, but it's not enough."
Nearly 1,400 people have died as a result of the floods, with over 5,000 individuals still unaccounted for. A statement released on Sunday by a group of Australian families with missing loved ones urged tour operators and authorities for greater transparency. While expressing gratitude to the Australian Federal Police and search teams, they also voiced criticism towards the Australian government for what they described as a failure to provide sufficient answers.
