Kathmandu, Nepal, August 30 (ANI): Catastrophic flash floods in Nepal have washed away schools and caused widespread destruction, even as rescue and relief operations continue across the affected region.
At a school in Trishuli, the lives of more than 1,600 students were threatened as floodwaters rapidly rose. A teacher, acting with remarkable presence of mind and risking his own life, helped evacuate all the children to safety in a race against time.
While the students were rescued, the floodwaters engulfed the school building.
Speaking to ANI, local resident Surendar Kumar described how the children were saved and how the school, which had once been a place where students pursued their dreams, was reduced to rubble and mud.
“There used to be a three-storey building here — a school. There was a temple right in front of it — a Ram temple. And this whole area was a market. In that open space in the middle — that’s where the three-storey school stood. 1,600 students studied there. And on the very day this happened, the teachers evacuated all the children and got them to safety,” Kumar said.
“There’s absolutely no sign of the school anymore; it was completely swept away. And there was a Ram temple too. Many people died here. There is no information yet on exactly how many, but the toll was high. So, everything here is gone,” he added.
Meanwhile, a specialized tunnel search-and-rescue team from India carried out joint operations with the Nepal Army at hydropower tunnel sites in the Chilime and Langtang areas on Sunday.
Highlighting the ongoing relief efforts, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava wrote on X that an Indian specialized team was working alongside the Nepal Army in the search-and-rescue operations.
“A specialised team from India for Tunnel Search & Rescue operation worked with the Nepali Army’s team at hydropower tunnel sites in the Chilime and Langtang area today. The team will continue to conduct search and rescue operations in close coordination with the Nepali Army,” Srivastava said.
The development comes as the number of bodies recovered following the devastating flash floods in Nepal reached 794 as of 5:45 p.m. Sunday, according to Nepal Police.
According to updated data, the highest number of fatalities has been recorded in Chitwan with 264 deaths, followed by Nawalparasi East with 197, Nawalparasi West with 120, Gorkha with 61, Nuwakot with 52, Dhading with 50, Tanahun with 37, and Rasuwa with 13.
Earlier, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said that as of 1 p.m., 2,502 people remained missing as rescue operations continued across multiple affected areas.
Unidentified bodies are being kept at 21 hospitals nationwide as authorities work to establish their identities.
Of the missing, NDRRMA said 933 are workers from regional hydropower projects, 592 are foreign nationals, and 127 are Nepali citizens traveling with foreign groups.
Missing-person reports also include personnel from the Nepal Police, Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Customs Office, and Immigration Office.
Authorities said 239 injured people are receiving medical care or have been discharged, with six surgical medical teams deployed to the disaster zone.
Nearly 20,000 security personnel have been deployed, while ground forces have carried out 8,730 rescues.
Air crews have conducted 363 helicopter flights, airlifting 3,081 people, including 236 foreign nationals, and rescuing 279 individuals directly from a flooded hydropower tunnel in recent days.
Police are also relocating families living in vulnerable areas across several districts to safer locations, while search-and-rescue operations and efforts to clear road blockages continue. (ANI)
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