90 Americans 'unaccounted for' after catastrophic floods hit Nepal and Tibet

McMINNVILLE, Tennesse: US officials said about 90 US citizens remained unaccounted for as of late Thursday/early Friday, after catastrophic flash floods engulfed a border area of China and Nepal, killing hundreds of people.

In a statement, the US State Department said it is not aware of any US deaths, but three Americans have been rescued.

Many of the missing were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and others.

Social media posts were surfacing Thursday from loved ones pleading for people to provide updates or circulate information about Americans they had lost contact with — a Virginia woman traveling with a tour group, a Texas couple on a birthday trip, and a mother accompanying her 14-year-old daughter.

Among those on a guided tour was Venus Rajnikant Patel, a 45-year-old Indian-born US citizen who recently moved from St. Louis to Cincinnati to help his family.

Patel’s brother, Dennis, said Venus called him and their parents a few hours before the floods, showing them his hotel room on the Nepalese side of the border and talking about how excited he was to cross into Tibet.

Patel’s friend Jolene Gosha said she and her friends knew Patel was in Nepal and were devastated when they realized his hotel was right along the border where the floods swept through.

“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.”

Gosha described Patel as an avid traveler who loves dancing and frequently organizes surprise “flash mob” performances for his friends’ weddings and birthdays.

“He’s always smiling from ear to ear,” Gosha said. “He’d dance so goofily and didn’t care who was watching.”

Another American who is missing is 72-year-old Jitendra Patel, a Long Island resident who was with a tour group on a Hindu pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, according to his son, Sunny Patel.

Jitendra last called Wednesday morning local time on WhatsApp to say that he had crossed the border into Tibet.

When Sunny first saw video of the flooding he thought no one could survive it, Sunny said. He then contacted his mother to ask about his father’s whereabouts. His mother said Jitendra was in the exact same area as the flooding.

“My heart sank,” Sunny said, adding that he “didn’t think it was possible that my dad would be there at ground zero.”

Sunny described his father as the “life of the party” who loves playing golf and socializing. Jitendra is retired but drives Uber for fun because he can talk to people.