Witnesses describe family swept away in Nepal-Tibet flood disaster

Rescue operations are in full force in the border region between Nepal and Tibet as authorities search for hundreds of missing people following a devastating flash flood. The disaster has left a trail of destruction and heartbreak, with survivors recounting harrowing personal losses.

“

My family was swept away before my eyes.

Kalpana Malla, from the severely impacted Nuwakot district in Nepal, shared her trauma with the BBC. "My family was swept away before my eyes," she stated, describing the moment her father, mother, sister, and her sister's children were lost to the raging waters. "They couldn't get away, there was no chance."

Keshav Prasad Baral, a 68-year-old survivor from Rasuwa district, managed to escape the mudslide but could not save his wife. He described the event not as water, but as a "mud that rushed straight towards us." He recounted trying to flee to the house's terrace, only for his wife to be pulled away by the mud.

“

They couldn't get away, there was no chance.

In Kathmandu, Sumit Kunwar spoke of friends who narrowly escaped the disaster, needing to run for safety to higher ground. He has been unable to contact them since, as communication lines are severely disrupted. "We were all shocked. We have never seen anything like it before," he said, expressing his prayers for everyone's safety.

“

It was not water, it was mud that rushed straight towards us. The higher it came, the higher it rose.

Other survivors, like Bibek Kumal, recounted being swept away themselves but managing to get caught in a mango tree, narrowly escaping a fatal outcome. He described the experience as feeling like an earthquake. Many survivors are now homeless and in urgent need of aid and evacuation, highlighting the immense challenge ahead for the affected communities.

“

She is gone.