A couple from the San Francisco Bay Area, who were visiting the region on a pilgrimage to Tibet, narrowly escaped a catastrophic flash flood that swept through the mountainous border area of Nepal and Tibet this week. The disaster occurred when a Himalayan glacier collapsed, sending massive torrents of water and debris crashing into the valleys below.
The event has resulted in nearly 600 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 2,500 people still missing as search and rescue crews continue to scour the area. The U.S. State Department reported on Friday that approximately 90 Americans are believed to be among the missing.
Anjana Raja and her partner, Pattabiraman Venkatesan, were traveling by bus through Nepal's Rasuwa District, near the Nepal-China border, when the disaster struck. They had just driven through the Nepali village of Timure when a wall of water appeared.
Venkatesan described the terrifying sight, noting that the dark, black deluge resembled a tsunami.
He recalled, "I could see this monster thing coming down. At that point I didn't know if it was water. I thought it was fire, forest fire, honestly."
Raja, who repeatedly stated she felt certain she would die, acted quickly to save her partner. She grabbed Venkatesan by the collar and urged him to run. The pair jumped from their bus and sprinted toward higher ground, climbing a set of steps as they witnessed nearby homes being destroyed by the surging water.
Raja described the horror of hearing the screams of individuals caught in the floodwaters below, stating, "I saw death right in front of my eyes."
With the help of a guide, the couple navigated a treacherous, slippery path of mud, stones, and rocks to reach a flat area on a nearby mountain. Raja noted that the climb was extremely difficult, and she was unsure how they managed to ascend the steep terrain.
They spent that night in a goat shed alongside other local residents and tourists before being airlifted to safety the following day.
The couple confirmed that everyone who had been aboard their tour bus survived the ordeal. Reflecting on the event, Venkatesan called their survival a miracle and expressed a renewed appreciation for life, stating, "Be good, do good, think good, and leave the rest to whoever is above us. That's all I can say."
"It's like 60, 70 feet, it looked like a tsunami, but dark black," Venkatesan said. "… I could see this monster thing coming down. At that point I didn't know if it was water. I thought it was fire, forest fire, honestly."
