I’m Not Going Without Her: Australian Man’s Desperate Search for Missing Wife in Nepal Reveals New Heartbreaking Details
Another Australian has been found safe after being listed as missing in the aftermath of devastating flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border.
The number of still missing Australians has been revised from 36 down to 35, with eight now remarkably counted as safe.
The newly found Australian, who was in Nepal and uncontactable, on Tuesday confirmed they are safe and well and did not require consular assistance. They have not been identified and it’s understood they were not in the disaster zone.
The federal government has sent a disaster assistance response team and other specialist resources to Kathmandu to help with the search.
Australia has also committed $11million to support the disaster response, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described as being of national importance.
Newcastle father-of-two Bhavin Patel has travelled over and tirelessly searched Nepal’s disaster zone for his missing wife, Reshma.
He has chartered a helicopter, tracked his wife’s phone signal and pleaded with governments of three countries for help, but is yet to find any trace.
‘She is my life. I am not going without her,’ he said.
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An eighth Australian has been found alive in Nepal following a devastating flash flood
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Australia has committed $11million to support the disaster response in Nepal
He made the journey to Kathmandu in the days after a glacier collapse brought catastrophic flash flooding to towns and villages in the Himalayas.
His wife, a Sydney council worker, was returning from a two-week walking tour to a sacred mountain in Tibet when the disaster struck on August 26.
She was one of several Australians travelling back to Kathmandu with the Isha Foundation when an immigration building was hit by the deluge.
On August 31, Mr Patel chartered a helicopter to fly to the site of the building.
Surrounding roads were destroyed or blocked.
From the air, Mr Patel saw exposed earth where the imposing civic structure had stood just days before.
It was in this location that his wife’s phone last pinged.
Though the floodwaters had receded, the pilot would not allow him to land, citing dangerous terrain.
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Newcastle father-of-two Bhavin Patel is in Nepal searching for his missing wife, Reshma Patel (above)
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A total of 35 Australians remain among the over 5,000 missing in Nepal (pictured is Australian support in Nepal)
‘I felt like… if they give me permission to land, I might rescue her,’ Mr Patel said.
Since returning to Kathmandu, Mr Patel has made daily visits to local authorities, sharing images and information he thinks may help with their searches.
The greatest obstacle to his own investigations, he said, is the lack of information from authorities, particularly across the Chinese-controlled Tibet border.
He wants Australia to press Beijing for greater co-operation.
‘I can feel she’s alive, that she’s safe somewhere,’ he said.
‘Our government is trying, but it’s not enough.’
Almost 1,400 people have died since the floods began, while more than 5,000 remain missing.
A group of Australian families with missing loved ones released a statement on Sunday, calling for greater transparency from tour groups and authorities.
They expressed gratitude to the Australian Federal Police and search teams, but criticised the Australian government for what they said was its failure to provide answers.
