'Saved by a mango tree': Nepali laborer recounts surviving deadly flash flood

Bibek Kumal, a 24-year-old Nepali laborer, narrowly escaped death during a devastating flash flood by clinging to a mango tree. He was digging a toilet pit when a massive wall of water, mud, and rock roared down, sweeping him and his surroundings away. His co-workers, who had been standing above the pit, shouted warnings before fleeing themselves.

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

"I started running. Then a wall of water came thundering down as if it was an earthquake," Kumal recounted from his hospital bed. The torrent carried him downstream amidst debris, but he was fortunate to get stuck in a mango tree. "Had there been no mango tree, I would have been washed away to death," he stated.

The flash flood, believed to be triggered by a landslide on the Nepal-Tibet border, has caused widespread devastation. Authorities report at least 95 deaths and hundreds missing, with many foreigners among them. Security footage from the Chinese side shows a wall of mud and rock obliterating buildings and vehicles.

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luckily I was stuck up in a mango tree. Had there been no mango tree, I would have been washed away to death.

Kumal suffered injuries to his right leg from the water and a subsequent stone impact. He witnessed the house he was working on disappear into the floodwaters. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Rihana Lamichhane, also injured, expressed relief at being safe after escaping the floodwaters while returning home from school. Her mother, Rita, was present at the hospital.

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