Climbed trees to escape floods, airlifted later: How 8-year-old boy was reunited with mother in Nepal

An eight-year-old boy named Zoyal Ghale, who fled to a forest during Nepal's deadly floods, was reunited with his mother, Matti Maya Tamang, on Friday. Tamang had feared that her children had died after being trapped at their school. Earlier, Ghale had been airlifted out of the flood-affected Rasuwa district with a broken leg and facial injuries.

The disaster began when a section of a glacier near the Langtang Lirung mountain peak collapsed, causing a massive landslide. Tamang, who was at home weaving, heard a sound reminiscent of an earthquake and feared her children were swept away. She set off towards their school but found the area unrecognizable due to the destruction.

Tamang had been searching shelters and collection centers for her missing sons. She got in touch with a Reuters journalist who had met Ghale at a hospital in Nuwakot district. The journalist informed her of Ghale's survival and suggested she film the boy to locate their family. Tamang was overjoyed upon learning that her younger son was also alive.

She rushed to Kathmandu to meet Zoyal at the hospital, where they were later joined by Ghale's father, who works as a construction laborer in Japan.