The article reports that Chandika Kumari Shrestha, an elderly woman presumed dead following Nepal’s devastating floods, was found alive ten days after her family began mourning rites. Rescuers discovered Shrestha in a narrow pocket of air within her collapsed, four-story home in the severely affected Betrawati village, where the house had been left amidst quicksand-like conditions. Police officer Mahendra Darnal, who led the 45-minute rescue operation, stated that he and his team heard Shrestha’s cries for help while surveying the debris, ultimately transporting her to an army hospital.
The floods, triggered by a glacial collapse, have caused widespread destruction in Betrawati, with the town’s market and most residential buildings—some as tall as four stories—nearly entirely buried under debris. The disaster has resulted in over 1,300 deaths across Nepal, with close to 5,000 individuals still missing eleven days after the event. Rescue efforts continue, with workers searching through collapsed structures and hardened mud deposits, having recently recovered three individuals from tunnels, including a Chinese citizen near the Trishuli river where over 900 are believed trapped. The article also notes the recovery of an 8-year-old boy, who was reunited with his mother, alongside the ongoing discovery of decomposed bodies in various locations. Read the full article here.