{
  "id": 4457639,
  "title": "300 Metres From Catastrophe: How A Bengal Couple Survived Nepal’s Flash Flood",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/300-metres-from-catastrophe-how-a-bengal-couple-survived-nepals-flash",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-30T16:11:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/300-metres-from-catastrophe-how-a-bengal-couple-survived-nepals-flash-flood"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kolkata: An elderly couple, Anukul Poddar and his wife Reba, narrowly avoided a flash flood in Nepal and returned home to Bengal’s Basirhat on Sunday. The couple, accompanied by a 37-member tourist group, had been en route to Nepal’s Mansarovar when the disaster struck just 300 meters away from their location. The tourists, consisting of 17 from Bengal and 20 from Telangana, embarked on their journey from Kathmandu to an immigration center on August 26. Anukul Poddar revealed that a swift decision by the driver and a slight delay in document verification saved their lives. He also mentioned that they were initially unaware of the catastrophe, stating, \"After getting news of the devastation, we immediately rushed back to Kathmandu, where we were all traumatized upon witnessing the destruction.\" Though relieved to be back home, Poddar expressed deep sorrow for those who had lost loved ones in the flood.",
  "summary": "Kolkata: An elderly couple from Bengal miraculously made a narrow escape from the flash flood in Nepal and returned home on Sunday at Bengal’s Basirhat. The elderly couple Anukul Poddar and his wife Reba were near an immigration centre near the China border, on their way to Mansarovar when the flash flood took place 300 metres from the couple’s location. The elderly couple visited Nepal on August…",
  "key_points": [
    "Anukul Poddar and Reba narrowly avoided flash flood 300 meters away.",
    "37-member tourist group en route to Mansarovar when disaster struck.",
    "Driver's swift decision and document verification delay saved lives."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}