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🇮🇹 Italy /Disasters & Emergencies

Italian tourist recounts harrowing journey through Nepal after floods

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • An Italian tourist, Mariapaola Ricozzi, described difficult travel conditions in Nepal following devastating floods and landslides.
  • Ricozzi and her travel companions had to take alternative routes, including trekking along a riverbed, to reach safety.
  • Despite the challenges, Ricozzi stated that she and her group are safe, though they witnessed the widespread destruction caused by the natural disasters.

Mariapaola Ricozzi, a 40-year-old Italian tourist, recounted her harrowing experience navigating Nepal's treacherous terrain in the wake of devastating floods and landslides. While celebrating her birthday, Ricozzi and her companions found themselves facing significant travel disruptions as natural disasters ravaged the region near the Nepal-Tibet border.

We are returning to Kathmandu. The road was blocked, so they made us take an alternative route, climbing a mountain and practically crossing the closed-off section.

— Mariapaola RicozziDescribing the initial detours due to blocked roads.

"We are returning to Kathmandu. The road was blocked, so they made us take an alternative route, climbing a mountain and practically crossing the closed-off section," Ricozzi explained. The group had already encountered difficulties on their way to Gandruk, where landslides had rendered roads impassable, forcing them onto a longer, more arduous path that doubled their travel time.

Upon returning from the Himalayas, heavy monsoon rains led to further complications. "We found another section had collapsed, so we had to go up the river, climbing along the riverbed that had collapsed, clinging to plants and stones," she described, highlighting the extreme conditions they endured. The journey back to Kathmandu was particularly challenging due to the dramatic state of the roads, which were often completely blocked, causing significant delays.

We found another section had collapsed, so we had to go up the river, climbing along the riverbed that had collapsed, clinging to plants and stones.

— Mariapaola RicozziDetailing the extreme measures taken to navigate the damaged terrain.

Despite the perilous journey and witnessing the widespread destruction, Ricozzi emphasized that she and her fellow travelers are safe. "The consequences we suffered fortunately are not significant, we are fine," she stated. Their experience underscores the severe impact of the floods and landslides on the region's infrastructure and the resilience required by those caught in their path.

The consequences we suffered fortunately are not significant, we are fine.

— Mariapaola RicozziConfirming her safety and that of her travel companions.
About this summary

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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