21 Tamil Nadu Pilgrims Return To India From Surviving Nepal-Falsh Flood, Some Of Them Use Sarees and Cable Wires As Lifelines
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Twenty-one pilgrims from Tamil Nadu have returned home to Chennai after surviving a massive glacial flood and landslide near the Nepal-Tibet border, using torn sarees and exposed cable wires to scale vertical slopes away from a wall of debris.
The disaster struck near Syabrubesi as a 57-member contingent was travelling towards Chinese immigration. At approximately 8 am, a sudden detonation-like sound preceded a 70-to-80-foot wave of mud, boulders, and water that engulfed the mountain road.
Upon their arrival back in India, the Union Minister of External Affairs personally received all 21 rescued Tamil Nadu pilgrims at the airport, assuring them of state support while coordination efforts continue for those still untraced.
Sarees and Cables as Lifelines
Faced with a 50-foot gorge on one side and a cascading mudslide on the other, the survivors—most of them over 50 years old—fled uphill through thorny brush and slippery terrain.
As elderly pilgrims struggled to maintain footing on the steep inclines, group member Poongodi reached a higher ridge, removed her saree, and lowered it down the slope. Other survivors gripped the fabric alongside exposed telecom cable wires to haul themselves out of the flow zone. One elderly woman, unable to climb independently, was hoisted up after group members bound her waist with a saree and pulled her to safety.
A Three-Hour Trek to Evacuation
Navigating unfamiliar terrain after the main road washed out, the group was redirected by a local Nepali resident away from a dangerous drop and toward a designated military landing zone.
Following a three-hour trek through dense undergrowth, the survivors reached a Nepal Army helicopter deployment point. The group was subsequently airlifted to Kathmandu before transit through New Delhi back to Chennai.
Dozens Remain Unaccounted For
Despite the successful evacuation of the 21 pilgrims, extensive search efforts continue along the border corridor. Thirty-six members of the original 57-person group remained untraced as of Saturday, while contact has been lost with a separate 49-member tour group from Chennai.
State authorities in Tamil Nadu confirmed that over 400 residents had travelled to Nepal for the pilgrimage, with roughly 90 individuals currently unreachable. The Nepal Army and the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu are coordinating joint aerial and ground operations across the flood-affected border region to locate the missing travellers.
