Roughly 90 Americans Missing Following Devastating Floods in Nepal and Tibet Border Region

Approximately 90 U.S. citizens have yet to be located following massive flash floods that devastated a border area shared by Nepal and China on Wednesday, according to U.S. State Department officials. While authorities have confirmed no American fatalities at this time, three U.S. citizens have been successfully rescued from the affected region. The flooding has claimed hundreds of lives across the border zone.

The majority of the missing Americans were participating in organized pilgrimages to Mount Kailash in Tibet, considered a holy destination for Hindu, Buddhist, and other religious followers. One such traveler was Venus Rajnikant Patel, 45, an Indian-born U.S. citizen who had recently relocated from St. Louis to Cincinnati. Patel’s friend Jolene Gosha expressed deep concern, noting that Patel was staying at a hotel near the border where waters surged through the area.

Gosha characterized Patel as an enthusiastic world traveler and performer who frequently organized surprise dance performances, or “flash mobs,” for friends’ celebrations. “He’s always smiling from ear to ear,” Gosha recalled. “He’d dance so goofily and didn’t care who was watching.”

Indian spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev, known as Sadhguru, reported that 77 individuals returning from Mount Kailash under tour groups organized by his Isha Foundation were at an immigration checkpoint in Gyirong, Tibet, when the floods occurred. The Isha Foundation later clarified that 22 of those 77 individuals were American citizens. The foundation operates as a spiritual organization headquartered in India and maintains a U.S. retreat center called the Isha Institute of Inner-sciences near McMinnville, Tennessee.

President Donald Trump addressed the situation Thursday from the Oval Office, stating that U.S. officials have been in contact with Nepalese leadership and have offered assistance as needed. Trump indicated that between 50 and 60 Americans were in the area, though he acknowledged that a complete accounting of all individuals remains incomplete.