We ran uphill: Indians rescued from Nepal floods recount horror

Indians rescued from flood-ravaged Nepal recounted harrowing experiences, describing rising waters, missing relatives, destroyed homes and desperate escapes to higher ground. Pilgrims and tourists also recalled being stranded near the China-Nepal border before Nepalese and Indian authorities facilitated their safe return

New Delhi: People from different parts of the country, who were rescued from flood-ravaged Nepal, on Saturday recounted the extent of devastation in the Himalayan Nation and considered themselves lucky to have escaped the catastrophe.

Migrant labourers from Bihar’s Bettiah referred to the flash floods as “unimaginable”, while speaking to IANS at their hometown. One of the labourers said: “There were five to seven of us, three of our people went missing…There was a lot of water in the area, rising up to 20 feet. We took our children and ran up the hill. After an hour, when the water level receded, we went to look for them, but we could not find the three people.” “We were told to run away from there as people said there is no guarantee, the water (flood) might come again,” he added.

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A youngster said: “At around 9:30 a.m., I heard a lot of noise. I went outside to see what was happening, but I could only see dust. Moments later, I saw that there was a lot of water due to the storm…immediately I alerted the people inside. We then ran towards higher terrain but three others were left behind.” “After we came down, there was no trace of any humans nor our house,” he said.

Another migrant worker, sitting beside him, added: “We got up after hearing about the massive flow of water and despite being barefoot, we started running uphill…when we came down after an hour to search for our people, they were nowhere to be found.” In Chennai, a woman who was on a pilgrimage to the Kailash Mansarovar, returned safely from Nepal.

Speaking to IANS, her son-in-law said: “My mother-in-law had reached Kathmandu on August 24 and was to visit (Mansarovar) on the 26th. Along with her there were 21 people in the bus when the disaster struck, while they were nearing the immigration office at China-Nepal border.” “They were unable to breathe or talk…the driver ran away, they then came down from the bus, (my mother-in-law) climbed a tree and stayed there for three to four hours. After that, they were rescued by Nepal military personnel,” he added.

Another Chennai resident, who safely returned from disaster-hit Nepal, recounted the horror, saying: “We prayed thinking that we just have to escape from the situation….The government had initiated steps for taking us to Kathmandu. Later, the ambassador met and consoled us and we were provided food and stay. The following day, we were allowed to move to the airport.”

After the first batch of 106 stranded Maharashtra tourists reached India, people thanked the Indian and Nepalese authorities for facilitating the rescue.

In Nagpur, a woman told IANS: “We were constantly worried about whether or not we would make it out of there alive. But our two children, helped us a lot… Initially, we did not listen because there were 106 people with us, and we wanted to leave together…but after the situation escalated, we agreed to board the flight. Even though we didn’t have the required documents, the (Nepal) administration helped us a lot.”

Another passenger added: “We were fine for about seven or eight days. But then the situation changed. We had initially travelled in large vehicles, but later the police stopped us and our vehicles could not proceed because of the disaster. The roads were blocked and bridges had been washed away.” While expressing happiness on meeting his family, he thanked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for making arrangements to bring them back.