Gorakhpur Man Recounts Nepal Flood Horror: '30-40 Swept Away Before My Eyes'

A 22-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh has returned home to Gorakhpur after surviving the catastrophic floods that devastated parts of Nepal and Tibet, recounting harrowing scenes from the disaster.

Ashutosh Upadhyaya, a resident of Pipraich in Gorakhpur, was working at a hydropower project in Nepal's Rasuwa district when flash floods struck without warning last week. He described how workers, who had arrived for their morning shift, were suddenly engulfed by rising water around 9:30 am.

"We went to work in the morning. It was around 9:30 when water started flooding the building and the power went out. Amidst the commotion, everyone rushed outside," Upadhyaya recalled.

As the water surged, workers scrambled to higher ground, climbing a small mountain in a desperate bid for safety. Upadhyaya said he witnessed 30 to 40 people being swept away by the torrent. He also spoke of a colleague named Rahul who could not escape the powerhouse and perished inside.

"The water pressure was immense. It didn't seem like we would survive," he said, adding that he had never experienced anything like it. "Just thinking about it is scary."

Rescue teams arrived after about 24 hours, evacuating the stranded workers to the Trishuli Army Camp for medical examinations. They were later moved to a hotel in Kathmandu. The ordeal, however, was not over, as the flood had destroyed all their identification documents. With replacements obtained from the Indian embassy, Upadhyaya and his colleagues were able to travel to the border. His company arranged transport and provided Rs 10,000 for travel expenses.

Back home, his parents endured a tense 24 hours without any word from their son. His mother, Manju Devi, said they finally received a call on the evening of the 26th. "He said, 'Mom, I'm fine,'" she recounted, fighting back tears. She asked for a video call to confirm his safety. "I am happy that my child has come back to us. We won't let him go anywhere," she said.

The floods have killed more than 1,200 people across Nepal and China's Tibet region, with nearly 4,800 still missing. Search operations continue, with Nepali army personnel and rescue teams using excavators and heavy equipment to look for survivors feared trapped inside several hydropower tunnels.