Australian Families Hire Helicopters to Search for Loved Ones in Cut-Off Nepal Villages

From a helicopter above the Nepal-Tibet border, Bhavin Patel watches the navigation system count down to the last known coordinates of his wife, Reshma Patel. No one has heard from the 46-year-old Australian mother in 11 days.

Her last known location was near the Friendship Bridge, a vital border link that the disaster destroyed. Patel said hiring the helicopter was “not only for himself” but “for everyone [whose] family is lost over there”.

For Australian families, a small stretch of mountainous terrain near the border has become the focus of a desperate search for survivors and answers. Most of the people still missing disappeared near the Gyirong border crossing north of Kathmandu or in nearby areas that the disaster has almost completely cut off.

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not only for himself

Six missing Australians were found safe this week, but 36 remain unaccounted for. Roads have been destroyed and dozens of bridges swept away, leaving helicopters as the main lifeline to some of the worst-hit communities. Aerial views show roads swallowed by riverbeds, homes reduced to shells and vehicles half-buried in mud. The destruction extends for kilometres through the valley.

The search has moved into the skies, with helicopters and drones surveying key areas. Some Australians say official efforts have not gone far enough and still believe their relatives may be alive. Patel arrived in Kathmandu at 10pm last Friday, two days after catastrophic flash floods tore through the region. The death toll has since risen above 1,300, while another 5,500 people remain missing. Most of the missing Australians, including Reshma Patel, had been on spiritual pilgrimages to Mount Kailash in southwestern Tibet, which Hindus consider sacred.

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for everyone [whose] family is lost over there