Bartlett, Illinois woman among dozens of Americans missing after Nepal flash floods

A suburban family is clinging to hope for a woman who went missing during the catastrophic flash floods in Nepal.

Poonam Thakkar, 42, traveled from Bartlett to Nepal for a religious pilgrimage. Her sister said they spoke to her on Aug. 25. The next day they got news of the disaster.

"The feeling immediately was I know she's a fighter, and she will escape and find a shelter, and I still have that firm belief today as well. That is my hope," Gunjan Thakkar said.

Poonam's last known location was a hotel on the Nepal border with China.

Wednesday's flash floods started after a glacial collapse high in the Himalayan region. Scientists who studied satellite images said bedrock underneath a glacier high in the Himalayan region had collapsed, taking part of the glacier with it. The rockfall was so extreme that it registered as magnitude 5.2.

The rocks and melted water then swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing a torrent of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal.

More than 4,200 people remain missing in Nepal, including 85 Americans. At least 900 people have died.

Hundreds of rescue workers have been working around the clock to find people trapped beneath the debris, but monsoon rains are complicating their efforts.