Nepali Flood Survivor Rescued Ten Days After Family Began Mourning

On September 6, rescuers located 78-year-old Chandika Kumari Shrestha alive inside the collapsed remains of her four-storey home in Betrawati, a village in Nepal’s Rasuwa district that was devastated by floods. Police officer Mahendra Darnal said his team heard a faint cry for help while navigating the debris and spent 45 minutes extracting her from a narrow air pocket amid water and mud. She was taken to an army hospital for treatment.

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A glacial collapse earlier in the month unleashed a torrent that swept through the valley, burying homes, markets and roads under compacted white deposits that resembled concrete. The disaster left Betrawati among the hardest-hit areas, with scores of bodies recovered and thousands still missing. In nearby Chitwan, mass burials have been conducted for unidentified victims.

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• Floods have killed more than 1,300 people across Nepal.

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• Approximately 5,000 individuals remain unaccounted for.

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• Families in Betrawati began an 11-day mourning period for Shrestha before her rescue.

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• Rescue crews have recovered 24 bodies in a single market building five days earlier.

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• Since Friday, three people, including a Chinese citizen near the Trishuli River, have been pulled from tunnels.

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Police officer Mahendra Darnal confirmed his contact with the family and the mourning rites:

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“I was in touch with the family and they had started the 11-day mourning period,” — Mahendra Darnal

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He added that rescue teams continue to search tunnels and mud-filled structures, using whistles to locate any survivors still trapped.

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Authorities persist in digging through hardened mud and collapsed buildings, employing hard-hat-clad workers with shovels and listening for calls for help. The operation underscores the scale of the humanitarian response required as Nepal grapples with the aftermath of one of its deadliest flood events.

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