WASHINGTON: Families of American nationals missing after the catastrophic flash floods in Nepal have written to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking expansion of rescue operations to trace their relatives.
At least 90 US nationals have been unaccounted for in the devastating flash floods that swept through northern and central Nepal on August 26.
"We want all of them found. We write as Americans because we expected more from our own government for the Americans among them," the family members of the missing American citizens said in the letter dated August 29.
The letter was signed by relatives and friends of 57 missing people - 31 Americans and 26 people of other nationalities.
Most of the missing persons were on the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, on the route that passes through Rasuwa district and crosses into Tibet at Gyirong.
"We have not been told of any American aircraft, search team, or consular officer in the valley," the family members said, adding that they spent two days calling the numbers provided by the State Department, but to no avail.
The family members have sought deployment of high-altitude aircraft and search equipment, satellite imagery and advanced analysis, emergency connectivity through Starlink, direct coordination among US consulates and Nepal's ministries, and deployment of urban search teams and scaled funding for the rescue efforts.
"In moments of crisis, swift unity and action are our strongest tools," said Ajay Bhutoria, former White House advisor and Indian-American community leader.
The families therefore asked the US government to seek consular access and information from China and coordinate rescue efforts with other governments.
"Coordinate with Australia, the United Kingdom, India, and Singapore, whose people were in the same tour groups as our relatives," the letter said.
The death toll in Nepal due to the flash floods rose to 1,282 on Friday with more bodies being recovered while rescue and search operations to locate more than 4,700 missing people continue.