Kathmandu: A TikTok video recorded just hours before Nepal’s devastating flash floods has given a family a crucial clue about the last known whereabouts of two women who remain missing after travelling towards Tibet.
Tulshi Patel said her mother, Hemangini Jitendra Patel, and aunt, Hema Sunil Amin, had travelled to Nepal as part of a long-awaited journey that included plans to enter Tibet.
The two women had been looking forward to the trip for months, with the journey described by their family as being on their bucket list.
Video captures women waiting at border
After losing contact with the two women, Patel said her family conducted an extensive online search and discovered a TikTok video posted by a local Nepali tour guide.
The footage reportedly showed Hemangini and Hema, along with three other members of their tour group, waiting at the Nepal-China border near Friendship Bridge.
Patel said the video was recorded shortly before 6 am Nepal time on Wednesday. The group had reportedly planned to cross the border on Tuesday but was delayed, possibly because of poor weather conditions.
GPS signal offers another vital clue
Patel said she last spoke to her mother on Monday and received a photograph of the two women on Tuesday.
A GPS signal from the tour group later placed them near Friendship Bridge, which connects Nepal and Tibet. The bridge was subsequently swept away by the powerful floodwaters.
Family refuses to give up hope
Patel said her family has continued trying to contact the two women and their tour guide, hoping for any indication that they are safe.
“We’ve not given up,” she said, adding that the family needs people on the ground to help locate them.
The family considered travelling to Nepal to assist with the search but decided against it after uncertainty over access to the disaster-hit region.
The TikTok footage has provided the family with an important clue about the women’s movements shortly before the floods, as rescue teams continue searching for those still missing.