Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Aug 29: Twenty-one pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, who narrowly escaped the devastating flash floods and landslides in Nepal, returned home safely on Friday night, greeted by tearful families and emotional embraces at Chennai airport.
The pilgrims were part of a larger group undertaking the sacred Kailash Manasarovar Yatra when disaster struck in the Rasuwagadhi region near the Nepal-China border on August 26.
A sudden flash flood and massive landslides swept through the mountainous area, destroying roads and buildings and leaving several people dead and hundreds missing, including Indian travellers.
"It felt like a tsunami falling from the mountains," one survivor said, recalling how floodwaters suddenly swept through the area. She said the entire market area in Timure disappeared before their eyes within seconds.
For the Tamil Nadu pilgrims, survival involved a difficult trek to a border police outpost, where they were provided shelter by local authorities before being taken to Kathmandu.
Following coordinated efforts by the Central and Tamil Nadu governments, the pilgrims travelled from Kathmandu to New Delhi and later reached Chennai on an Air India flight on Friday night.
Tamil Nadu Ministers N Anand and D Sarathkumar received the survivors at the airport and made arrangements for their immediate welfare and onward travel.
Speaking to reporters later, Anand said four Tamil Nadu ministers, sent to Delhi on the instructions of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, were coordinating the efforts to bring back those stranded in Nepal.
"Our efforts will continue till everyone is brought back home safely," he said.
Two women from Tiruchirappalli, Vallinayaki and Karpagam, recounted their terrifying experience while travelling by bus towards the Chinese border.
According to them, the bus encountered a massive landslide when a thick cloud of mud and debris, resembling wet concrete, came rushing down the mountain.
With no immediate outside assistance, the 21 passengers on the bus worked together to escape. They managed to get out through the driver's side and began climbing the steep, rugged terrain.
The women said that when some passengers struggled to climb, they used a sari to pull one another to safety. After an arduous two-and-a-half-hour climb through difficult, pathless terrain, they eventually reached a rescue centre.
The survivors expressed gratitude to the Nepal Army and local authorities for helping them reach safety. They also thanked the Tamil Nadu and Central governments for coordinating their rescue and facilitating travel and documentation.
While relieved to be back home, the survivors said the experience had left them deeply shaken. They also urged people to respect the privacy of families whose relatives remain untraced, saying repeated inquiries were adding to their distress.