Watch: Presumed dead, 60-year-old Nepal woman found alive under rubble after 10 days
A 60-year-old woman was rescued alive from a mud-buried house in Nepal 10 days after devastating floods. She had survived for 10 days in a narrow pocket of air amid water and mud.
Ten days after devastating flash floods in Nepal buried her home under tonnes of mud and debris, a 60-year-old woman was pulled out alive -- just as her family had begun the traditional 11-day mourning rituals, believing she had died.
That woman was Chandika Kumari Shrestha from Betrawati in Nepal's Nuwakot district. Missing since the August 26 floods tore through the Bhotekoshi river basin, she had become one of thousands feared dead in one of the country's worst natural disasters. But on Saturday, rescuers heard a faint voice from beneath the rubble of her collapsed four-storey home.
HOW SHE SURVIVED FOR 10 DAYS BENEATH THE MUD
The rescue team had searched the same location before without finding any signs of life.
"We had previously searched and conducted rescue operations at this exact spot and heard no sound at all," Armed Police Force (APF) Inspector Suman Bik told Kantipur online portal, according to PTI.
As the team passed the area again on Saturday, they heard a weak cry for help.
"The four-storey house was swept (away) by the floods and the house was left in the middle of a quicksand. While walking around it, we heard a voice 'save me,'" police officer Mahendra Darnal told Reuters.
Rescuers immediately began digging through hardened mud before breaking through a window to reach Shrestha. Bik later told Onlinekhabar, as cited by PTI, that she was found with nearly half her body buried in mud, with only part of her body and her head visible.
After around 40 to 45 minutes, rescuers safely pulled her out. She had survived for 10 days in a narrow pocket of air amid water and mud. Shrestha was flown to Kathmandu by a Nepali Army helicopter and admitted to Birendra Military Hospital, according to Kantipur.
The force of the flood had shifted her house from its original location before burying almost the entire structure. The Kathmandu Post reported that her house was buried under mud, while part of the top floor remained above the debris. Her husband, Anandlal Shrestha, is still missing, and other members of the family also remain unaccounted for.
Shrestha's rescue has become a rare moment of hope in a disaster that has killed more than 1,300 people across Nepal and left nearly 5,000 missing, according to Reuters. Betrawati is among the worst-hit areas, where markets and homes have been buried under thick layers of mud that have hardened almost like concrete. Rescue workers continue digging through collapsed buildings and blowing whistles into gaps, hoping someone trapped underneath might respond.
Authorities have also rescued people trapped inside tunnels in recent days, including a Chinese citizen near the Trishuli River. Shrestha's survival, along with that of an eight-year-old boy who was later reunited with his mother, has renewed hope that more people may still be found alive despite the odds.
FRESH FLOOD HITS GORKHA
The recovery effort has been made even harder by fresh flooding in parts of Nepal. Early Sunday, the Namrung Khola River burst its banks in Gorkha district, sweeping away four houses and a suspension bridge in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-4.
Residents spotted the flood coming and managed to get out in time, so no casualties were reported. Authorities believe the river may have been temporarily blocked near its source before suddenly breaking through, sending a powerful rush of water, mud and debris downstream.
The flooding also damaged two small hydropower projects and cut off the suspension bridge, making movement in the area more difficult. People living along the Budhigandaki River, where the Namrung Khola eventually flows, have been told to stay alert as the search and recovery operation continues.