Full Breakdown
Rescue of Chandika Kumari Shrestha Highlights Ongoing Nepal Flood Search
9/7/2026, 2:21:32 PM
Background: August 26 Floods and Continuing Crisis
On August 26, flash floods and mudslides triggered by a glacial collapse swept through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems in northern Nepal. The disaster devastated the town of Betrawati in Bidur Municipality-1 of Nuwakot district, where a four-storey house was swept away and buried in hardened mud and debris. By the eleventh day of the event—September 5—authorities reported more than 1,300 deaths and close to 5,000 people still missing.
Rescue Operation
Police Inspector Mahendra Darnal led a Nepal Police team that entered the wreckage of a four-storey house belonging to Anand Lal Shrestha. While breaking a window, rescuers heard a faint cry—“save me, save me.” The voice belonged to Chandika Kumari Shrestha, a 64-year-old resident who had survived ten days in a narrow pocket of air surrounded by mud and water. After a 45-minute effort, the team extracted her and air-lifted her to Birendra Military Hospital via a Nepali Army helicopter. Officials described her condition as “out of risk.” The same search effort later rescued a Chinese national near the Trishuli River and reunited an eight-year-old boy with his mother.
Official Statements & Responses
Mahendra Darnal confirmed that the Shrestha family had already begun an 11-day mourning period, reflecting the community’s belief that she had perished. He noted that Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force (APF) remained active in Betrawati, searching for additional survivors and recovering bodies.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I was in touch with the family, and they had started the 11-day mourning period,” — Mahendra Darnal
Data & Statistics
- Fatalities: over 1,300 confirmed deaths.
- Missing: close to 5,000 people unaccounted for.
- Survivors rescued in recent days include three individuals from tunnels, among them a Chinese citizen, and Chandika Kumari Shrestha after ten days trapped.
The rescue of Shrestha underscores both the scale of the disaster and the persistence of Nepal’s emergency response as authorities continue to search for those still trapped beneath the flood-laden debris.
