Nepal-China flooding latest: Survivors say flood hit ‘like a tsunami’ as rescue efforts resume
Americans recount how tour guide rushed them to safety amid Nepal flooding
An Indian American couple who survived the flood have recounted how they narrowly managed to escape to higher ground and were eventually airlifted to safety by the Nepali army.
Anjana Raja, 52, and Pattabiraman Venkatesan, 56, told CNN’s Will Ripley that they hiked up a mountain to an army camp, where a number of survivors congregated.
They were later told that the Nepali government was going to send a helicopter to airlift them out, but it would land at the top of the “very tall mountain.”
“It was very, very hard to climb,” said Raja. “Rocky, slippery, marshy, thorns all over the bushes.”
Raja also said she slipped and fell off the narrow path a couple of times.
“I thought ‘that’s it, I’m gonna die,’” she said.
Eventually they made it to the top, where they sheltered from the rain overnight in a goat shed crowded with survivors, with no space to lie down and sleep.
“All I could think of was the people that were gone,” said Venkatesan.
“All I was thinking about was how big this was and how did we manage to survive,” he added.
They were then airlifted to safety by helicopter the next day.
“The army did a wonderful job,” said Raja. “They were really amazing.”