Believing that Chandika Kumari Shrestha had perished in the deadly floods in Nepal, her family began mourning her death. However, ten days later, rescuers discovered her alive inside her collapsed home in Betrawati village. She managed to survive in a small air pocket amidst water and mud.
Police officer Mahendra Darnal recounted the dramatic rescue, stating that Shrestha was trapped in a confined space after her four-storey house was swept away by the floods and left in a precarious position. The rescue operation lasted 45 minutes, and Shrestha was swiftly taken to an army hospital for medical attention.
Shrestha was among the numerous individuals reported missing in Betrawati, one of the worst-hit areas by the floods in Nepal, where recovery teams are still uncovering numerous fatalities. The town’s market and residential buildings, some towering four storeys high, were almost entirely buried under debris, contributing to a death toll exceeding 1,300 individuals across Nepal, with many still unaccounted for.
Rescue workers in hard hats were observed diligently digging and searching for survivors, while the recovery of 24 decomposed bodies in Betrawati’s market area underscored the tragic aftermath of the disaster. Despite the passage of eleven days since the catastrophic flooding triggered by a glacial collapse, nearly 5,000 people are still missing.
Efforts to locate survivors continue, with bodies discovered along riverbanks in distant districts like Chitwan. The search for trapped individuals beneath layers of solidified mud and within tunnels remains ongoing, with recent successful rescues including a Chinese citizen near the Trishuli river.
Amid the diminishing hope, Nepalese authorities persist in their search and rescue operations, aiming to extricate individuals stuck in perilous conditions. Noteworthy cases of survival, such as that of Shrestha and a reunited eight-year-old boy with his mother, offer glimmers of hope amidst the devastation.