A gust of wind rushed in first. It made an ominous sound, and they wondered what was happening. Was it a storm? Then the lights went out.
Someone said earthquake.
Vishnu Bahadur Thapa described the scene as he was among the 35 workers who were rescued soon after the deadly gush took death and destruction further downstream.
“I was thinking I won’t be able to get out. He then described what he thought of when he was struggling to get out. I did not have anything. I was alone. I was thinking where my family would be. “I have to earn money. I have to take care of my family. I will work in the hydro project again. No problem. Rescue operations continue across the region along the rivers Bhote Koshi and Trishuli, the two that carried the bulk of the deadly slurry that originated from a glacial landslide in the small river of Lhende near Nepal’s border with Tibet, China.
At least 12 hydropower projects have been damaged in the flood. Over 1,200 people are confirmed dead so far, and around 4,000 remain missing.
He said that even if he were saved, “I didn’t know if the family would be saved or not”. “Yes,” he then said.
