Close friends of an Auckland woman who is believed to be missing amid devastating flash floods in Nepal have expressed growing concern about her safety.
The friends told RNZ that Shweta Mhatre was currently in Nepal on a pilgrimage.
None of them had heard from Mhatre since Wednesday’s catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepal-China border, which has killed more than 450 people.
A former partner of Mhatre also told RNZ he had not heard from her since Wednesday.
RNZ visited Mhatre’s home and spoke to neighbours, who said they had not seen her at the house in the past two weeks.
One neighbour said Mhatre travelled frequently and was often overseas.
RNZ understands Mhatre was part of the Isha Foundation’s Sacred Walks pilgrimage.
The Isha Foundation told RNZ on Friday that Mhatre’s emergency contacts had been notified about her situation.
Sadhguru, founder of the Isha Foundation, posted a video on social media saying two New Zealanders were missing from his pilgrimage group.
Dejan Kuzmic, another New Zealander RNZ understands is missing, was also part of the Isha Foundation’s Sacred Walks.
Kuzmic came to New Zealand from Bosnia and Herzegovina as a refugee when he was 10 years old.
RNZ has also spoken to a family friend, who confirmed the family had been unable to contact Kuzmic since the floods.
“He was part of the Isha Foundation’s walk group S3 and was at the border crossing, which was hit quite heavily within a reasonable time, which makes us believe he may have been involved,” said Seyed Sepehr Hosseini, whose mother attends a meditation group with Kuzmic.
Hosseini contacted the Isha Foundation, which told him Kuzmic’s emergency contacts had been notified.
He also contacted New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which said it had opened a consular case for Kuzmic.
Five New Zealanders are among more than 1400 missing following Wednesday’s disaster.
Hamilton couple Kinnari Patel and Mihir Patel are believed to be among the missing, with one community member admiring their passion for Garba, a traditional Gujarati folk dance.
Ketan Joshi
Supplied
Ketan Joshi has known the couple for several years, first meeting them at Garba events in Auckland.
“I met them during Garba events in Auckland and their passion for it caught my eye,” he said.
Joshi was working for a community newspaper at the time and vividly remembers seeing the couple dressed in traditional clothing.
“They were so enthusiastic about Garba, and they used to play it from the beginning to the end, which is very rare to see these days,” Joshi said.
He said the couple were originally from Vadodara in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Kinnari Patel’s brother, Chirag, told Indian media on Thursday the family had not heard from the couple for a week.
He said the couple flew directly from New Zealand to Nepal via Singapore and were planning to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a popular pilgrimage for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.
India’s official Kailash Mansarovar Yatra portal describes the pilgrimage as having deep religious and cultural significance.
The couple had booked the pilgrimage through an agent based in Mumbai, he said.
Patel said the couple had been living in New Zealand for 30 years.
He said he contacted the hotel where the couple had stayed, but was told they had stayed for three days before checking out.
“[My sister] said that she would come back for Raksha Bandhan and would go back,” Patel said.
Raksha Bandhan is a Hindu festival celebrating the bond between brothers and sisters, which falls today.
Patel said the couple left for the pilgrimage on 21 August.
He said he was speaking with officials in India about the missing couple.
RNZ understands members of the Indian community in Hamilton have come together to support the couple’s children with food and other assistance.
Hamilton couple Kinnari Patel and Mihir Patel are believed to be among those missing in Nepal following Wednesday’s catastrophic flash flood.
Namaskar Gujarat NZ News
The New Zealand Nepal Society, one of the largest Nepali community organisations in the country, has planned a candlelight vigil on Saturday to remember the victims of the flash floods in Nepal.
Roshan Khadka, president of the New Zealand Nepal Society, told RNZ they had cancelled the Teej Festival, one of the community’s largest annual festivals, which was originally scheduled to be held on Friday.
Instead, the community has organised a vigil.
“I’ve spoken to multiple Nepali organisations in Auckland and with many Indian and Chinese organisations and they’ve told me that they will all be attending to remember the victims,” he said.
Khadka also said they were raising donations at the event, which would be put towards the Nepal Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund.
The Indian High Commission told RNZ it had set up an emergency centre in New Delhi for Nepal flood victims and was available to help anyone who needed support.
The High Commission said the emergency number (+64 21 539 817) is monitored frequently, and members of the community could also contact the mission through WhatsApp.
RNZ understands another New Zealander missing in the floods is Suhasini Reddy, who had moved to Australia.
Reddy’s brother, Rajeev, said in a Facebook post he was trying to establish the extent of the damage around the immigration checkpoint between Nepal and Tibet and whether anyone had been able to reach higher ground.
Dinesh Khadka, former honorary consul of Nepal to New Zealand
Supplied
Dinesh Khadka, former honorary consul of Nepal to New Zealand, said the checkpoint had been completely swept away in the flooding, and nobody had been able to contact anyone who was in the area.
Khadka said there was no further information about the five missing New Zealanders.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said New Zealand was offering consular support in Nepal and was prepared to “surge” more resources if needed.
He did not have any further information about the five New Zealanders missing “apart from to say that we’ve got consular support in there
engaging with authorities”.
Luxon also acknowledged the thousands of Nepali people living in New Zealand.
“Having spoken to some members of the Nepalese community this morning, you know, there are many families here in New Zealand that are going through high levels of anxiety, understandably, because they’re losing, they’ve lost loved ones at home as well,” he said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
RNZ / Nick Monro
RNZ contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update regarding the missing New Zealanders.
“MFAT is aware of five New Zealanders believed to be in the impacted region and whose whereabouts have yet to be established,” a spokesperson from the ministry said.
“Consular officials are providing support to the families of those individuals. For privacy reasons, MFAT cannot confirm the names of the New Zealanders affected.”
The spokesperson said that New Zealand consular staff were now on the ground in Kathmandu working with authorities and partners to urgently gather further information and support affected families.