A saree became a lifeline for 21 Tamil Nadu pilgrims in Nepal when a couple used it as a makeshift rope to pull stranded women up a steep, muddy slope during sudden flash floods. Here’s what happened.
On August 26, 21 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu on a Mount Kailash yatra were near Timure in Nepal when massive flash floods and mudslides struck the region. Their vehicle narrowly avoided being swept away when it stopped at a safe bend as a massive wave of water and debris crashed nearby. The group scrambled out of the vehicle and tried to climb a slippery, mud-covered mountain embankment to reach higher ground. A pilgrim named Ratnakumar and his wife, Poonguzhali, managed to reach higher ground safely. Seeing other women struggle on the treacherous, muddy slope below, Poonguzhali wore her sweater, took off the saree and lowered it down. The trapped pilgrims gripped the sturdy fabric alongside a metal cable for support, allowing the couple and others to haul them up to safetyone by one. The group spent nearly two days surviving on minimal rations and bottled water provided by locals while staying in contact with authorities. The Indian Embassy, the Nepal Army, and Tamil Nadu state officials coordinated a multi-agency rescue operation to airlift the survivors and bring them safely back to India.
THOUSANDS STILL MISSING
The death toll from flash floods in Nepal rose to 903 on Monday, with bodies continuing to be recovered, while 4,247 people are still missing following the disaster, authorities said.
So far, 272 bodies have been recovered from Chitwan, 207 from Nawalparasi East, 151 from Nawalparasi West and 62 from Gorkha districts, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said.
Similarly, 95 bodies have been recovered from Nuwakot, 55 from Dhading, 37 from Tanahu and 24 from Rasuwa.
The disaster authoritysaid 4,247 people are also missing, including 99 security personnel and 591 foreigners.
The flash floods, believed to have been triggered by a collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border, devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepalon August 26.
The Bhotekoshi River, which flows south from the Himalayan border region, carried the floodwaters downstream, sweeping away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.
It killed 16 people on the Chinese side as well, while nearly 550 people remain missing in Tibet, according to Chinese media reports.
The floods also washed away the Bhotekoshi Corridor, Nepal’s main land trade link with China as well as the Rasuwagadhi border crossing connecting the two nations.
With PTI inputs
