‘Locals cautioned, driver reversed’: How warning saved Andhra pilgrims from Nepal floods

A group of 26 pilgrims from Tirupati narrowly escaped the devastating flash floods in Nepal on August 25, thanks to a brief tea break and warnings from locals, according to a report. The pilgrims, who had traveled to Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, were en route to the China border when the disaster unfolded. After a two-day delay due to visa issues, they left Kathmandu at 6 am and stopped for a tea break along the way.

A pilgrim later explained that had they not taken that break, they would have been equally affected by the flooding as another bus had hit a bridge. A bus traveling in front of them, along with locals, alerted their driver to the approaching floodwaters, and the driver reversed the bus to safety. The group then moved to a safer location and escaped the floods that devastated parts of the Nepal-China border region.

The pilgrims expressed gratitude to the local authorities and the Indian and Andhra Pradesh governments for their assistance. As of August 26, the death toll from the Nepal floods had risen to 547, with 977 people still missing, including foreign tourists and security personnel.