{"id":18373,"date":"2026-08-31T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T00:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18373"},"modified":"2026-08-31T12:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T00:50:13","slug":"selfless-very-generous-man-among-kiwis-missing-after-nepal-flood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18373","title":{"rendered":"\u2019Selfless, very generous\u2019 man among Kiwis missing after Nepal flood"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Five New Zealanders\u00a0<a class=\"underline-brand-hover visited:text-foreground-secondary hover:visited:text-foreground-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/world\/1164686\/more-details-about-missing-new-zealanders-in-nepal-what-we-know\">remain missing<\/a>\u00a0following the\u00a0<a class=\"underline-brand-hover visited:text-foreground-secondary hover:visited:text-foreground-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/world\/1178268\/rescuers-dig-into-tunnel-as-missing-toll-from-nepal-china-flood-nears-3000\">deadly flash flood at the Nepal-China border<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">A total of 289 foreign nationals have been rescued, according to an update from the Nepal Tourism Board early Monday morning.\u00a0<a class=\"underline-brand-hover visited:text-foreground-secondary hover:visited:text-foreground-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/world\/1148384\/five-new-zealanders-among-missing-tourists-after-deadly-nepal-flash-flood\">No New Zealanders have been included<\/a>\u00a0in that number to date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">The missing New Zealanders are:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text leading-normal [&amp;_li&gt;ol.list]:!mt-4 [&amp;_li&gt;ol.list]:!pb-0 [&amp;_li&gt;ul.list]:!mt-4 [&amp;_li&gt;ul.list]:!pb-0 [&amp;_li]:!mb-8 [&amp;_ol]:pb-4 [&amp;_ul]:pb-4\">\n<ul class=\"list [&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong class=\"font-serif-text-medium\">Dejan Kuzmic<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><strong class=\"font-serif-text-medium\">Shweta Mhatre<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><strong class=\"font-serif-text-medium\">Mihir Patel<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><strong class=\"font-serif-text-medium\">Kinnari Patel<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><strong class=\"font-serif-text-medium\">Suhasini Reddy<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Here&#8217;s what we know about them, as the search for those missing following the disaster continues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"[&amp;_h2]:text-md [&amp;_h3]:text-md [&amp;_h4]:text-md clear-left mb-12 pt-16\">\n<h3 class=\"text-fluid-md-lg leading-snug [&amp;_em]:font-sans-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-sans-italic font-sans-semibold\">&#8216;Selfless&#8217; and &#8216;generous&#8217; man had been dreaming of sacred pilgrimage walk for years<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Dejan Kuzmic was part of a group of 77 Isha Foundation Walkers who had just completed the Mount Kailash, Lake Mansorova sacred walk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Kuzmic came to New Zealand from Bosnia and Herzegovina as a refugee when he was 10 years old.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Nepal&#8217;s Tourist Police confirmed Kuzmic&#8217;s name to RNZ on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Kuzmic&#8217;s flatmate Alicia Gimelfarb told RNZ Kuzmic had just turned 44.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">&#8220;He was very selfless, very generous, and very like affectionate. He was always cheerful and, you know, wanted to make everyone smile and laugh.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">She said he was always helpful and went the extra mile for people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">The pair met through school and had been flatting together for the past five years. Gimelfarb said he had been &#8220;dreaming&#8221; and planning to go to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarova to do the sacred pilgrimage walk for several years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Kuzmic has not made contact since the floods and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had opened a consular case for him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"[&amp;_h2]:text-md [&amp;_h3]:text-md [&amp;_h4]:text-md clear-left mb-12 pt-16\">\n<h3 class=\"text-fluid-md-lg leading-snug [&amp;_em]:font-sans-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-sans-italic font-sans-semibold\">Friends of missing Auckland woman fear for her safety<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Auckland woman\u00a0<a class=\"underline-brand-hover visited:text-foreground-secondary hover:visited:text-foreground-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/indonz_featured\/1164224\/friends-of-missing-auckland-woman-in-nepal-flash-flood-fear-for-her-safety\">Shweta Mhatre is believed to be missing<\/a>, following the devastating flash floods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Close friends of hers told RNZ that she was in Nepal on a pilgrimage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">None of them had heard from her since Wednesday&#8217;s catastrophic flash flooding on the Nepal-China border. A former partner of hers, as well as her neighbours, had not seen or heard from her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">RNZ understands Mhatre was part of the Isha Foundation&#8217;s Sacred Walks pilgrimage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">The Isha Foundation told RNZ on Friday that Mhatre&#8217;s emergency contacts had been notified about her situation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Sadhguru, founder of the Isha Foundation, posted a video on social media saying two New Zealanders were missing from his pilgrimage group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pb-16 pt-8\">\n<div class=\"grid justify-center\">\n<figure class=\"mx-auto table\">\n<div class=\"image-ring flex w-full max-w-full -mx-16 md:mx-0 w-screen border-x-0 !max-w-[initial] md:w-[revert-layer] md:!max-w-full [&amp;_img]:w-full [&amp;_img]:md:w-[revert-layer]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ml:max-h-[50rem] max-w-full aspect-[16\/10] object-cover\" src=\"https:\/\/media.rnztools.nz\/rnz\/image\/upload\/s--c4zIw0L5--\/t_kt-crop-16x10\/w_614\/f_auto\/q_auto:eco\/4JJ6FXI_Mihir_and_Kinnari_2_Photo_Year_2025_jpg_jpeg\" alt=\"Hamilton couple Mihir and Kinnari Patel at a garba event last year.\" width=\"614\" height=\"384\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"border-stroke-default w-full border-b py-12 text-sm *:inline table-caption caption-bottom mt-auto\">Mihir Patel and Kinnari Patel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-foreground-secondary flex-shrink-0 ml-4\">Namaskar Gujarat NZ News<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"[&amp;_h2]:text-md [&amp;_h3]:text-md [&amp;_h4]:text-md clear-left mb-12 pt-16\">\n<h3 class=\"text-fluid-md-lg leading-snug [&amp;_em]:font-sans-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-sans-italic font-sans-semibold\">Hamilton couple was celebrating 50th birthday<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\"><a class=\"underline-brand-hover visited:text-foreground-secondary hover:visited:text-foreground-primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/world\/1152433\/nepal-flash-flood-what-we-know-about-the-missing-new-zealanders\">Mihir Patel and Kinnari Patel<\/a>, who own the Best Value Urlich Ave Dairy in Hamilton, were visiting Nepal for Kinnari&#8217;s birthday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Their eldest son, Drishya Patel, told RNZ he was holding onto hope his parents had left the area before disaster struck.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">&#8220;They&#8217;re just on a trip to go visit some of the mountains in Nepal. It&#8217;s like a pilgrimage of sorts,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">&#8220;They were having a good time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pb-16 pt-8\">\n<div class=\"grid justify-center\">\n<figure class=\"mx-auto table\">\n<div class=\"image-ring flex w-full max-w-full -mx-16 md:mx-0 w-screen border-x-0 !max-w-[initial] md:w-[revert-layer] md:!max-w-full [&amp;_img]:w-full [&amp;_img]:md:w-[revert-layer]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ml:max-h-[50rem] max-w-full aspect-[16\/10] object-cover\" src=\"https:\/\/media.rnztools.nz\/rnz\/image\/upload\/s--cH5Os0Y7--\/t_kt-crop-16x10\/w_614\/f_auto\/q_auto:eco\/4JJ8EH1_e69063a3_590d_48ca_bee0_6e0c4b4adc13_jpeg_16x10_jpg\" alt=\"Mihir Patel and Kinnari Patel, who own the Best Value Urlich Ave Dairy in Hamilton, are among the New Zealanders missing.\" width=\"614\" height=\"384\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"border-stroke-default w-full border-b py-12 text-sm *:inline table-caption caption-bottom mt-auto\">Mihir Patel and Kinnari Patel, who own the Best Value Urlich Ave Dairy in Hamilton, are among the New Zealanders missing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-foreground-secondary flex-shrink-0 ml-4\">Supplied<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">His mother had messaged him on WhatsApp about 5.30am local time to say they were leaving. The flash flood began unfolding around 8.40am local time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">The couple have not been heard from since.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">&#8220;As long as like they actually did leave when my mum sent me that message, I&#8217;m hopeful,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pb-16 pt-8\">\n<div class=\"grid justify-center\">\n<figure class=\"mx-auto table\">\n<div class=\"image-ring flex w-full max-w-full -mx-16 md:mx-0 w-screen border-x-0 !max-w-[initial] md:w-[revert-layer] md:!max-w-full [&amp;_img]:w-full [&amp;_img]:md:w-[revert-layer]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ml:max-h-[50rem] max-w-full aspect-[16\/10] object-cover\" src=\"https:\/\/media.rnztools.nz\/rnz\/image\/upload\/s--r7vETJFO--\/t_kt-crop-16x10\/w_614\/f_auto\/q_auto:eco\/4JJ8JR0_Image_11_jpg\" alt=\"Suhasini Reddy is one of the New Zealanders missing following the Nepal flood.\" width=\"614\" height=\"384\" \/><\/div><figcaption class=\"border-stroke-default w-full border-b py-12 text-sm *:inline table-caption caption-bottom mt-auto\">Suhasini Reddy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-foreground-secondary flex-shrink-0 ml-4\">SUPPLIED<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"[&amp;_h2]:text-md [&amp;_h3]:text-md [&amp;_h4]:text-md clear-left mb-12 pt-16\">\n<h3 class=\"text-fluid-md-lg leading-snug [&amp;_em]:font-sans-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-sans-italic font-sans-semibold\">Mother of two &#8216;had this trip planned for a while&#8217;<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Suhasini Reddy was believed to be in the Dhunche area, heading towards the Nepal-China border, on Wednesday morning local time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Her brother, Rajeev Reddy, told RNZ his sister was hiking with a group of friends from Australia. The mother of two had been living there for the past four years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Her brother last spoke to her the night before the floods, while she was in Kathmandu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">&#8220;She was all good, excited,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">&#8220;She had this trip planned for a while.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Reddy said his sister was supposed to be meeting Chinese immigration about 11am local time. They had not heard anything from her since the flash flood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"font-serif-text mb-12 leading-normal\">\n<p class=\"[&amp;_em]:font-serif-text-italic [&amp;_cite]:font-serif-text-italic\">Dinesh Khadka, former honorary consul of Nepal to New Zealand, said the immigration checkpoint had been completely swept away in the flooding, and nobody had been able to contact anyone who was in the area.<\/p>\n<p>Source: RNZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five New Zealanders\u00a0remain missing\u00a0following the\u00a0deadly flash flood at the Nepal-China border. A total of 289 foreign nationals have been rescued, according to an update from the Nepal Tourism Board early Monday morning.\u00a0No New Zealanders have been included\u00a0in that number to date. The missing New Zealanders are: Dejan Kuzmic Shweta Mhatre Mihir Patel Kinnari Patel Suhasini [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18375,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18373\/revisions\/18375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}