Nepali woman found alive days after family began mourning rites
She had survived under the rubble of her four-story home in a narrow pocket of air amid water and mud.
BETRAWATI, Nepal - When Chandika Kumari Shrestha's family believed she had died in the deadly floods, they began the mourning ritual for the elderly woman. Surprisingly, ten days later, rescuers discovered her alive within her collapsed home in the devastated Betrawati village. The four-story structure had been washed away by the floods, leaving behind a quicksand-like mess.
Police officer Mahendra Darnal recounted how the team heard Shrestha's voice calling for help while exploring the dilapidated house. In a 45-minute rescue operation, Darnal and his team managed to find the woman in a confined space and transport her to an army hospital. Darnal explained that the family had initiated the 11-day mourning period, unaware that their loved one was still alive.
Shrestha was among the hundreds of people missing in Betrawati, one of the areas worst hit by the floods in Nepal, which has claimed over 1,300 lives. The town's market and numerous residential buildings, some reaching four stories in height, were buried under debris following the torrential downpour that ravaged the valley. Thousands of individuals remain unaccounted for, with close to 5,000 still missing in the aftermath of the disaster.
Rescue workers, clad in hard hats, were meticulously searching through the rubble, blowing whistles to alert any trapped individuals. Just five days prior, 24 decomposed bodies were found in the market area, which once housed a small shop. As of now, nearly five thousand people are still missing. Hundreds of bodies have been washed away from the riverbanks far from the devastated Rasuwa district.
In Chitwan, situated hundreds of miles away, numerous mass burials have been conducted for unidentified and severely decomposed bodies. Despite dwindling hopes, Nepalese authorities persist in their search efforts, successfully rescuing three individuals from tunnels, including a Chinese citizen near the Trishuli river, where over 900 people are believed to be trapped. Other survivors, such as an 8-year-old boy, have been reunited with their families.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
