Express in Nepal: At search & rescue hub, helicopters and the stench of death

“Some workers at the project told me that they had seen him rush out of the facility. But there is no other information,” Priya said, crying quietly inside the Shree No. 1 Military Training Centre in Trishuli.

Today at the army base where a rescue and relief command centre is based, scores of school children were among those who were rescued from the adjoining regions cutaway after the floods. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

This military centre in central Nepal’s Nuwakot district has become the main hub of search and rescue operations as Nepalese security forces scour the valleys and hills for survivors of the catastrophic flash flood that swept through districts along the country’s border with Tibet.

Nepalese authorities put the official number of dead at 579 on Friday evening. 1,924 people were missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). Among the missing were at least 320 Indian nationals, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said.

On Friday, every time a helicopter landed at the camp, bringing back survivors from far-flung locations, hope stirred in Priya. She would get up, expecting some news of her brother. At this camp and elsewhere, scores like Priya have been pinning their hopes on the forces to bring back their loved ones, if they are still alive — or at least confirmation of their worst fears.

The river front and the adjoining areas were cordoned off and residents were made to climb up to higher grounds. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

Among those who made it back alive to the camp were 45-year-old Ramesh Chaudhary and 43-year-old Bepali Tharu. They had come to nearby Shanti Bazaar before the flood, after hearing of the death of a cousin.

“We had come to give her (the cousin) a peaceful sendoff. We were in the midst of prayers when we heard loud shouts in many voices. Both of us ran up to the fourth floor of a school building next door,” Chaudhary said.

The river front and the adjoining areas were cordoned off and residents were made to climb up to higher grounds. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

As Tharu and he rushed up, they thought others who were present at the funeral would follow them, Chaudhary said.

“But we realised that no one else from our family had made it. I lost my wife, my jethani (sister-in-law), and my sasur (father-in-law) all on the same day,” he said.

Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal

The NDRRMA said 4,451 people had been rescued so far, including 517 by air on Friday. More than 15,000 security personnel have been deployed in search and rescue operations, with 6,755 from the Nepal Army alone.

Trishuli’s skies were dotted with helicopters as 16 army and private choppers ran continuous rescue and relief operations, making 99 flights throughout the day. Survivors were brought in, and supplies were loaded and unloaded in a matter of minutes. Those who were brought in were checked for injuries, and their vitals were recorded.

Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal

After that, they were asked their details, so the army could put them in the list of survivors. And then everyone was given two packets of chocolate biscuits and a bottle of water. “We are mostly seeing crush injuries, but we don’t have the equipment to treat serious injuries here. So they are being airlifted to Kathmandu. We only have basic equipment to treat open injuries and wounds,” an army doctor at the camp said.

A heavy stench hung over the camp. At a demarcated place near the entrance to the facility, bodies lay wrapped in blue tarpaulin.

Nearby, Janak Rijal, 42, waits near the tables manned by army personnel noting down details of those missing. “He called me at 8:52 am on Thursday, when he shouted paani aa gaya (the water is here) and I could hear other people screaming,” Rijal said of his younger brother, Raj Kumar Rijal, 32, a driver. “It’s only been two days, but two days have never seemed longer.”

Hundreds of others like Rijal made their way to the Trishuli camp to find their family members.

Security personnel send out loud warnings on an impending second flood, after reports of a second lake break in the higher regions.  (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

There were also those waiting to be airlifted to their villages on the other side of the flooded river. A kilometre after the camp, the road ends, buried in debris and mud.

Pujan Panthi, 12, and 16 other students were stranded at Shree JD Boarding School, on this side of the river. “I want to go back now to my home, see my mama and papa,” said Panthi, from Multhala village, which he said was not affected.