‘Saved by a mango tree’: How a Nepali labourer survived deadly flash flood

Bibek Kumal, a 24-year-old Nepali laborer, narrowly escaped death when a terrifying wall of water, mud, and rock surged through Bidur, downstream from Nepal's Rasuwa district. He was digging a toilet pit when the disaster struck, sweeping him and everything nearby away.

His co-workers shouted warnings, urging him to run as a hissing sound preceded the torrent. Kumal scrambled out of the pit just as the floodwaters hit. "I started running. Then a wall of water came thundering down as if it was an earthquake," he recounted from his hospital bed.

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I started running. Then a wall of water came thundering down as if it was an earthquake.

Miraculously, Kumal was carried downstream but became lodged in a mango tree. "Had there been no mango tree, I would have been washed away to death," he stated, emphasizing his improbable survival. He watched the house where he was working disappear as the floodwaters raged.

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Had there been no mango tree, I would have been washed away to death.

The flash flood, believed to be caused by a massive mud and rockslide into a river on the Nepal-Tibet border, has devastated settlements and infrastructure. Security footage from the Chinese side of the border captured the destructive force of the event, showing buildings and vehicles being destroyed. While the exact cause remains under investigation, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake occurred shortly before the incident, potentially contributing to the landslide.

Kumal suffered injuries to his right leg, struck by the water and a large stone. He is among those being treated at Kathmandu's National Trauma Centre, where other flood survivors, including 11-year-old Rihana Lamichhane, are also receiving care. The disaster has claimed at least 95 lives, with hundreds, including many foreigners, still missing.

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I am happy to be safe. I have no idea what happened to my friends.