In a twist that would make Sherlock Holmes trade his magnifying glass for a smartphone, a British woman has traced her missing mother's last known location through a TikTok video posted hours before Nepal's catastrophic flash floods. The floods, which thundered through valleys and swept away entire villages on Wednesday, have killed at least 675 people, with over 3,000 still missing.

Among the missing are 33 British nationals, including a 13-year-old, NHS workers, and a priest. A UK rescue team is set to arrive in Kathmandu on Saturday, presumably with better luck than the Home Office, which has apparently been less than helpful.

Tulshi Patel, a pharmacist from Milton Keynes, last spoke to her mother, Hemangini Jitendra Patel, and her aunt, Hema Sunil Amin, on Monday. The two women were on a pilgrimage to Tibet, a trip they'd been planning since the start of the year - it was, as Patel put it, 'on their bucket list.' Their last known location was a GPS signal from their tour group at Friendship Bridge on the Nepal-China border.

But Patel didn't stop there. 'We did our own deep-dive research and we found a TikTok video that verified and showed my mum and auntie and three other people from the tour at the border waiting to cross,' she told LBC's Matt Frei. The video, posted by their local Nepali tour guide, was timestamped Wednesday morning, just before 6am Nepal time. The group was supposed to cross the border on Tuesday but got delayed - probably by weather, or fate, or the universe's cruel sense of timing - and crossed on Wednesday, the day the flood hit.

The flood is believed to have been triggered by a magnitude 5.2 seismic event near the Nepal-China border at 8.37am local time, according to the US Geological Survey. Because of course a 5.2 earthquake was the cherry on top of this disaster sundae.

Patel described her mother and aunt as healthy, positive, and 'very strong,' having prepared well for the trip with regular walks. 'They were looking forward to it. This is all they wanted,' she said. Now, she's messaging them on WhatsApp, hoping for a 'tick' to show they've read it, and contacting the tour guide in case he has a signal. 'We've not given up, but, from our end, all we can do is research,' she said, adding that the family needs 'eyes and ears there' to help get everyone out safely.

Some of the missing were visiting Kailash Mansarovar, a high-altitude site in Tibet revered by Hindus and Buddhists. Neetu Goyal Tiwari, 51, was on her 'dream' trip to complete a pilgrimage when the floods hit. Her brother, Naresh Goyal, said the family has been desperately calling contacts in Nepal, though they increasingly believe she's still in China. With many family members based in India, getting visas to search for her is a bureaucratic nightmare. 'We're not sure what the next second holds,' Goyal said. 'She was a very fun-loving woman [and] really had a great heart. I really hope she comes back soon.'

Other families are taking matters into their own hands. Leena Bector, 53, from Slough, is among 27 travellers unaccounted for. Her husband, Bhupesh Bector, told the Times he was booking the next flight to Kathmandu after the Home Office failed to confirm whether Leena was on its missing persons list. 'Even if they find her today or tomorrow, I need to be there. She must be in trauma,' he said. Because when the government fails you, the only option is to hop on a plane and hope for the best.