Several New Yorkers, relatives among the 90 missing Americans in deadly Nepal floods
The devastation of the deadly flash floods in Nepal is being felt across New York as several tri-state residents and loved ones are among the group of nearly 100 Americans reported missing. Long Island locals Amita Amin, 67, and Jitendra Manubhai Patel, 63, alongside Tejal Vyomesh Patel, 64, of New Jersey, were on a religious pilgrimage with a seven-member tour group traveling to Tibet when the deadly floods ripped through the region on Wednesday, Newsday reported. “It’s been the most devastating 48 hours, I think, of my life,” Tejal Patel’s daughter and Amin’s daughter-in-law, Aditi Patel, told the outlet.Aditi, who also lives on Long Island, said that Amin, Tejal Patel and Jitendra Patel flew out of John F.Kennedy Airport in Queens to Nepal’s capital city, Kathmandu, with their tour group on Aug.
22. The travelers — through the tour group Nepal Trekking Planner — spent just over a day in Nepal before attempting to enter Tibet, where they planned to see Mount Kailash, a sacred peak for Hindus, Buddhists and people of other faiths, the publication reported. According to Aditi, the group of seven were forced to spend an extra night in Kathmandu after multiple landslides and the breakdown of their tour vehicle prevented the group from crossing the border into Tibet.Before the floods hit Wednesday, Aditi believes the tour group had entered the immigration building along the country’s border, as that’s where her mother’s Find My Friends location has remained since Wednesday, Aug.26 — the date of the deadly floods.“That’s where the story ends, and that’s where the story gets dicey, because we don’t know what happened after they left that building,” Aditi told the outlet. “Did they actually leave? Did they leave and didn’t get too far, and the flood hit?”Jitendra Patel last spoke to his son, Sunny Patel, at 8:13 a.m.
local time Wednesday before the catastrophic flooding hit.The flood waters first hit around 8:37 a.m.local t...