New Delhi— A fortuitous combination of visa administrative hold-ups and an impromptu roadside tea break helped 28 Indian pilgrims from Visakhapatnam narrowly escape catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border. The deluge, which caused widespread devastation across the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors, wiped out roads, bridges, and key border infrastructure, including the Gyirong immigration facility.
The surviving group, travelling in a three-bus convoy toward Tibet for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, had halted for tea roughly 80 kilometres outside Kathmandu when disaster struck just ahead of them. According to pilgrim Gada Elaveni, two other buses that departed just thirty minutes prior were swept away in the surging waters. In a second close encounter near the Chinese frontier, the group avoided an active landslide after a passing driver raised an alarm, allowing their driver to steer onto elevated terrain.
Earlier bureaucratic hurdles also altered the group’s travel timeline in a manner that ultimately kept them out of harm’s way. A three-day delay in securing Chinese travel visas postponed their departure time from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM, preventing their vehicles from entering the hardest-hit sectors when the floodwaters peaked.
The natural disaster has triggered massive emergency operations by Indian and regional authorities to trace stranded travellers and local workers. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 84 Indian nationals have been successfully rescued, including 21 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu and 63 individuals employed at the Trishuli-I hydroelectric project. While over 540 citizens are confirmed safe across Nepal and China, approximately 320 individuals remain uncontactable due to severed telecommunications and destroyed transport links.
India has stepped up coordination with Nepalese rescue agencies, dispatching emergency provisions, medical teams, and logistical resources to assist ongoing relief operations across the Rasuwa border corridor.
