Indian nationals rescued from flood-hit Nepal have returned home, recounting terrifying moments when they came within minutes of being caught in the devastating flash floods that swept through parts of the Himalayan nation. A total of 149 Indian nationals have been rescued from Nepal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Sunday. The ministry also shared a list of all 149 rescued Indians as of 5.30 pm.
Among those who made it home safely were people from West Bengal, Maharashtra and Kerala, many of whom described narrow escapes and chaotic journeys to safety. After returning to Basirhat in West Bengal, Anukul Poddar recalled how he was travelling with a tourist group from Kathmandu towards Rasuwa, near the Nepal-China border, when the disaster struck. After about three to four hours, both vehicles stopped. The administration had informed the drivers, and they could not proceed further…Sitting in the vehicle, we saw schoolchildren crowding the road as schools had been closed. “Later, the drivers took us to a higher place on the hill. All we could see was a white, cloud-like mass flowing down the river. We had never witnessed anything like it. We stood on the hill for a while and watched the mass gradually descend. The driver then quickly took us back to the hotel in Kathmandu. Speaking after getting off a train at a railway station in Nagpur, a woman thanked the Maharashtra government for helping her family return home. The consignment included a tunnel technical contingent and equipment for search and rescue operations, forensic experts for DNA analysis, as well as blankets, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, plastic sheets and hygiene kits.
“That day, we left our hotel in Kathmandu at 6:30 a.m in two tourist buses. “In the afternoon, we diverted the bus into a forest area and travelled around 60 kilometres into the forest…our vehicle was breaking down repeatedly. The MEA said the fourth flight carrying 11 tonnes of relief assistance landed in Nepal on Sunday and the material was handed over.
Later, the driver told us that a landslide warning had been issued. Many were running uphill,” he told IANS. After some time, the driver said we had to turn back; otherwise we would not be able to return if the road got blocked. At that time, we thought that we would not be able to go back home,” he said.
