Kathmandu, Aug 30 (IANS) As rescue teams race against time to save any possible life amid the increasing death toll following devastating flash floods in Nepal, a relative of an affected family said four members, along with their house, were swept away in seconds, with his cousin being the sole survivor.
In Nuwakot district, Tularam Gurmir consoled his emotional cousin, the only surviving member of the family, while recounting the horrors of the tragedy.
Speaking to IANS, he said: “He is the son of my mother’s sister. His entire family was swept away. Everyone in the family, whoever was there, all were swept away…his mother, father, sister, sister’s son, all were swept away…only he got saved by just a minute, because he had stepped out to have tea.”
“As soon as he saw the approaching landslide, he rushed to alert the family, but it was too late. He could not save them,” the young local added.
Gurmir said that his brother is not in a condition to speak. “From their house to livelihood, everything related to the family has been swept away,” he added.
Meanwhile, family members of flood victims gathered at the Postmortem Block of Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Tribhuvan University Institute of Medicine, in Kathmandu.
Posters bearing information about the victims were displayed at the hospital morgue as families awaited updates.
Talking to IANS, a family member of a victim said: “The security told us to wait for some time, and then we’ll just identify the dead body and take it for the ritual procedure.”
The brother of a missing army officer, who came from Janakpur district, showed the latter’s picture as he waited outside the hospital’s morgue.
A relative of another missing person told IANS that the family has no clue whether he is dead or alive.
“We last spoke to him at around 8:45 am (on Wednesday). After that, there was no contact…Nothing has been found yet,” he said.
He added: “Even now, we have been calling (to know about any update), but there is no contact. They (authorities) are saying that they are trying (to gather information). Whether he is alive or dead, we have no contact or information at all.”
Meanwhile, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said the massive flood on August 26 has so far claimed 734 lives, while 2,498 people remain out of contact, including 589 foreigners.
–IANS
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