Amid widespread destruction caused by flash floods in Nepal , a 36-member group of Malayalis who were caught in the disaster narrowly escaped and returned to Nedumbassery.
“It was an adventurous trip and we were lucky. We were moving to Galtimunj for our next visit, but suddenly the roads were closed. The disaster was a horrifying view. We stopped for a temple visit before moving to the next destination. This stop saved our lives; that was the golden hour. Another resident, Vinaya Kumar, added that, “The disaster happened on the Onam days. We were in the middle of the trip. It was a horrendous experience. We were lucky to escape this disaster. The travel agency got us back to India securely. We faced some difficulties in finding food at first. But the agency people helped us to move to a safe place later that day. “At first, we didn’t realise what was happening. The vehicles were stopped and local residents started to run towards the curve ahead of us. Later we went to look the scene and disaster reminded me of tsunami. Water level was so high and it sweeped all the trees and buildings. We stayed at the bus for hours and later at night we started to walk through woods. By midnight, we got food and accommodation.
Later, we realised about the disaster that had happened about 500 metres away from us. By 3 am in the morning, we got a safe accommodation.
We thank god for our lives,” Rajini told ANI. Anyway, we thank god for our lives,” he said. Renjitha said the group had never expected such a disaster during the festive season.
From there, they returned home on two separate flights. Among them, five people from Kasaragod landed in Bengaluru and then returned home by train. Rajan, a teacher at Periya Polytechnic and a native of Cheruvathur, teacher Anil Neelambari, former SI Pradeep Kumar, former KSEB official Karunakaran, and Rajeevan, a native of Muzhakkoy, were part of the Kasaragod group.
The group travelled around 100 kilometres from the Nepal border and crossed the border before reaching Gorakhpur Airport in Uttar Pradesh .
“Nobody expected such a disaster in the middle of a festive season like Onam. I can still picture the scene of disaster. God saved us all from this.
I thank god for my life,” he told ANI.
