Five days after deadly flash floods tore through Nepal and China, a Toronto woman says she still hasn’t heard from her relatives who were on a pilgrimage in the area and the situation is becoming bleak. “This unknownness is indescribable,” Neeral Patel said through tears during an interview with CTV News Channel on Monday. Patel said she last spoke to her cousin, Ishan Patel, on Wednesday. She said he was celebrating his 32nd birthday with his wife, Akanksha, and two other relatives when the floods hit. The group was on a pilgrimage before rushing water swept through the area, leaving more than 900 people dead and 4,700 people missing. “Last we heard, they were having breakfast, and then we lost contact. There was no communication. There was nothing....We’re quite desperate for answers.” Global Affairs Canada says 31 citizens and permanent residents are still unaccounted for. At least one Canadian has been found. Patel said very little is known about the condition of her relatives, but that the international tour group that organized the pilgrimage recently conducted a helicopter flyover of the hotel they were staying at. “The hotel is no longer there, so they have no point of contact as well, and they’re at a standstill ... He didn’t even start the trek. It was just the beginning. They were supposed to go to the immigration office, and it didn’t even start.” Becoming emotional, Patel described her cousin as the “smart one” in the family, pointing out that he had just finished a fellowship, purchased a home and was about to start his life with his wife before the flood. “He bought a house. He didn’t even step into this house yet, and it was going to be a glorious beginning for him. And it just ended,” she said.
