SUSHILABEN PATEL, 82, is unsure whether her son, daughter and daughter-in-law are missing or in an 'out-of-network' zone. She hopes it is the latter.

Holding their photos in a frame, she has been praying hard since August 26, when her daughter Meenaxi Ramani last called to say that they had cleared immigration for the Kailash Mansarovar journey and would be out of reach.

After that, she watched the videos of the devastating flash floods in Nepal. Her son Paresh Patel, 58, his wife Jyoti, 54, and Meenaxi, 61 are among the 23 people with roots in Gujarat who are missing. According to a list compiled Sushilaben last met her son and daughter-in-law on her husband Natvarlal's death anniversary last year.

Paresh Overview & Context

Paresh is settled in Florida, US and has a son Rushabh, who is in college. Meenaxi, her eldest of four children, lives in Mumbai. Sushilaben lives alone in Surat.

She has written to the Nepal Embassy, the Government of India and the Gujarat government, requesting information on the whereabouts of her family members. On August 22, they left for Nepal from Mumbai. On August 24, my daughter Meenaxi joined them.

On the morning of August 26, I last spoke to Meenaxi and she told me, "We have cleared immigration to go to Mansarovar, and from now on mobile network will not be available.” Meenaxi also said that Paresh and Jyoti were with her and that they were going in a group.” A day later, she saw the visuals of the floods on news channels.

Paresh Overview & Context

“I tried contacting them but failed due to mobile network problems. Paresh’s son Rushabh also called me and inquired about his parents, but I told him to pray for their well-being. We are praying for their safe return.” Sushilaben has a daughter settled in Ahmedabad and another in California.

One of her relatives, Ankur Patel (25), meanwhile, shared, “In 2006, my uncle Natvarbhai shifted to Surat from Mumbai and settled in the Adajan area. Paresh applied for a US visa and went to Florida 15 years ago, where he is presently working for a software company. Three years ago, Natvarbhai passed away due to illness.

Pareshbhai and his wife came last year and spent around two weeks". Some of those now listed as missing spoke to their families minutes before the flash floods swept through parts of Nepal, damaging roads and disrupting communication in the mountainous region.

According to the fresh list on Friday, 11 from the US – Bimalkumar Patel and Jaimina Patel from Anand; Paresh Natvarlal Patel and Jyoti Paresh Patel from Surat; Dinesh Patel from Amreli; Ishan Patel and Shilpa Patel from Kheda; Amita Amin, Tejal Patel and Jitendra Patel from Gandhinagar; and Bina Parikh from Ahmedabad – are yet to be found.

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Four Canadian citizens of Indian origin - Umesh Patel and his wife Akansha from Kheda, and Jagdish Patel and his wife Padma from Anand – are on the list. Also on the list are Bhavinkumar Raval, an Australian citizen with roots in Gandhinagar, and Kinnari Patel and Mihir Patel, New Zealand citizens of Indian origin.

The families of most people on the list shared they were approaching the northern Nepal route towards the China border. The list does not specify the location of all missing persons. Ashok Dhirajlal Kapadi last spoke to his family at 8.30 am on August 26 when he was “about to reach” the immigration centre near the China border.

A family member told The Indian Express that cousins Jay Kotecha and Roma Intwala were near the Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge. Amita Amin, Tejal Patel and Jitendra Patel were also reported to be near Friendship Bridge. Kinnari and Mihir Patel, as well as Bhavinkumar Raval, were travelling via the Kerung-Kyirong route to Mansarovar.

For Paresh Patel, Jyoti Patel and Minaxi Sanjay Ramani, the list records a Kailash Mansarovar itinerary and loss of contact, but no specific location. Dinesh Patel, Umesh Patel, Akansha Patel, Ishan Patel, Shilpa Patel, Padma Patel and Jagdish Patel are recorded as having travelled to Nepal or on the Kailash Mansarovar route.

Kamtaprasad Chauhan was reportedly travelling with a group scheduled to proceed from Ayodhya to Nepal.

He last spoke to his family on August 11. US-based couple Bimalkumar Patel, 47, and Jaiminaben Patel, 43, had travelled to Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Bimalkumar's brother-in-law, Nilesh Patel, earlier told this newspaper that the couple arrived in India on July 28 and left for Nepal on August 16.

“They had finished with local sightseeing in Nepal and were on their way to the immigration office for visas to travel to Kailash Mansarovar. They had an 8.30 am appointment. We have not been able to contact them thereafter," he said.

The family has since been waiting for information about them. The Gujarat government has released the following helpline numbers for affected citizens and their families: 079232-51900, 9978405304 and 1070. Families may also contact their respective District Emergency Operation Centre on 1077.

For Indian citizens affected in Nepal, emergency helpline numbers +977 985 131 6807 and +977 970 910 7500 have also been released.