In Nepal, the family of Chandika Kumari Shrestha began mourning her believing she had died in the devastating floods. However, ten days later, rescuers located Shrestha alive inside her collapsed home in Betrawati village. She had managed to survive in a small air pocket amidst the water and mud.
Police officer Mahendra Darnal recounted how they heard Shrestha’s cry for help while searching around her four-storey house, which had been swept away by the floods and left in a precarious position. A 45-minute rescue operation led by Darnal and his team successfully extracted Shrestha from her confined space and transferred her to an army hospital.
Initially presumed missing, Shrestha was among the many individuals unaccounted for in Betrawati, one of the worst-hit areas in Nepal where recovery teams are still discovering numerous casualties. The town’s market and numerous tall residential buildings were buried under debris from the torrential disaster that claimed over 1,300 lives in Nepal, with thousands still missing.
The ongoing search and rescue efforts involve crews excavating through the rubble, with some crawling through collapsed structures to locate any survivors. Tragically, 24 bodies were discovered in a decomposed state in Betrawati’s market area just days prior, highlighting the grim aftermath of the catastrophic event.
As the search for missing persons continues, nearly 5,000 individuals are still unaccounted for following the glacial collapse-triggered floods. Despite the challenges, authorities persist in their mission to locate individuals possibly trapped in tunnels or beneath hardened mud deposits.
Recent successes include the rescue of three individuals from tunnels, including a Chinese national near the Trishuli river where many are believed to be trapped. Stories of survival like Shrestha’s and that of an eight-year-old boy reunited with his mother amidst the tragedy offer glimmers of hope amid the devastation.