Dozens of people braved heavy rain in Auckland on Saturday to attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of Wednesday's deadly flash floods in Nepal.
The gathering at Aotea Square in the central city also brought together people supporting families waiting for news of loved ones still missing after the disaster near the Nepal-China border.
A former partner of North Shore resident Shweta Mhatre, who is believed to be among five New Zealanders missing in Nepal, attended the solemn gathering.
"I'm here for hope," said an emotional John Kubiak, Mhatre's ex-partner.
"We are just in absolute shock, despair. We are grieving," he said.
"We're devastated, and so to be around other people who might be in a similar situation or just, it's just about hope and trying to stay positive."
Kubiak said Mhatre had sent him a message, but he did not see it until he found out about the situation in Nepal.
John Kubiak, a former partner of North Shore resident Shweta Mhatre, who is believed to be among those missing in Wednesday's deadly flash flood in Nepal, attends a candlelight vigil in Auckland's Aotea Square on Saturday. Photo credit: Rahul Bhattarai / Supplied
"I decided to have a look at her WhatsApp to see when she was online last. That's when I saw that she had sent me a message before that," he said.
"But I also saw that she had not been online since before the flood hit."
Kubiak said Mhatre was part of a group travelling on one of Isha Foundation's Sacred Walks pilgrimages.
"They did talk about one tour group, S3, the group Shweta was in and they have quite clear timelines and telecommunications that group had arrived in the building shortly before the flood struck and they had not left the building by that point," he said.
"So, we're very confident that that's where they were."
RNZ understands another New Zealander, Dejan Kuzmic, was also part of Isha Foundation's Sacred Walks tour group S3, which Mhatre was travelling with.
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.
A candlelight vigil was held in Auckland's Aotea Square on Saturday in memory of the victims of Wednesday's deadly flash flood in Nepal. RNZ/ BLESSEN TOM
On Wednesday, Sadhguru, founder of the Isha Foundation, posted a video on social media saying two New Zealanders were missing from his pilgrimage group.
Kubiak described Mhatre as a "shining light".
"She had a love of life like I'd never seen her to anyone. She loved to travel. Every time she'd see a rainbow, she'd run outside screaming about how beautiful it was and she just loved nature," he said.
"She looked at everything as if it was the first time she'd seen it and she didn't have a bad bone in her body. She was kind to everyone."
Kubiak said he had been in touch with Mhatre's family.
Uday Shrestha, a member of the Nepali community in Auckland, said he attended the event to support fellow community members as they grappled with the situation back home.
"No one expected those things to happen," he said.
"It happened with no notice, and people lost their lives and so many loved ones are missing," Shrestha said.
He said he had friends and family back home, but not in the area where the flash floods happened.
Shrestha said it was time for the community to come together and support Nepal in whatever way they could.
Roshan Khadka, president of the New Zealand Nepal Society, agreed.
"We didn't really care about the weather today. Back home our country is in flood, so this rain is nothing compared to what people are going thorough in Nepal," Khadka said.
He said there were people in the community here who had lost family and friends.
"I also have got some friends trapped in the hydropower tunnel," he said.
The Nepali Army has been working to rescue survivors trapped inside a tunnel at a hydropower project in Rasuwa.
Until Thursday, more than 100 people were estimated to have been trapped in the same tunnel.
Khadka said it was a very tough time for the community here and people needed to support each other.
He also said they were trying to raise as much money as they could for the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund.
"Every dollar matters," he said.
The vigil was attended by Ethnic Communities Minister Mark Mitchell, National Party MPs Melissa Lee and Carlos Cheung, and Labour MP Vanushi Walters.
We're here in solidarity with the community and try to find them any support and comfort we can," Mitchell said.
"All of New Zealand is behind them."
Mitchell said he had no information about the five missing New Zealanders.
Ethnic Communities Minister Mark Mitchell attends a candlelight vigil in Auckland's Aotea Square on Saturday in memory of the victims of Wednesday's deadly flash flood in Nepal. RNZ/ BLESSEN TOM
Mount Roskill MP Carlos Cheung said the Nepali community was not alone and the whole country was standing with them.
National List MP Melissa Lee broke down in tears while speaking about the Nepal tragedy.
"Watching the footage coming out of Nepal is absolutely heartbreaking," she said.
Labour List MP Vanushi Walters also echoed her parliamentary colleagues and reassured the community that the country was behind them.
Indian Consul General Madan Mohan Sethi also attended the vigil.
He said he had visited the family of Kinnari and Mihir Patel, who are also believed to be among those missing following Wednesday's disaster.
Sethi said the consulate was supporting the family in every way it could.
"It is very painful to all of us and India is committed to stand with Nepal," he said.
Aside from Mhatre, Kuzmicand the Patel couple, Suhasini Reddy is the fifth New Zealander that has been reported as missing following the flash flood and landslide near the Nepal-China border, which has killed more than 600 people and left another 2400 missing.
A list of rescued foreign travellers released by the Nepal Tourism Board late on Friday did not identify any New Zealanders, though the nationalities of three of the 121 people were yet to be confirmed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said it was still waiting for official information from authorities on the ground, as it worked to establish the whereabouts of the missing.
"The widespread and significant destruction is likely to mean verified information will take some time to emerge," an MFAT spokesperson said.
Consular staff were now on the ground in Kathmandu, working with authorities and partners to urgently gather information and support the affected families, the spokesperson said.
New Zealand has pledged a $2 million humanitarian assistance package for Nepal, to support the Nepal Red Cross deliver emergency assistance including shelter, water and sanitation, MFAT said.
-RNZ