A casual tea break may have saved the lives of five friends from Chhattisgarh who were caught in the devastating flash floods that swept through Nepal’s Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river valleys.
What began as a brief pause during their holiday on August 26 turned into a narrow escape from a disaster unfolding around them.
The group spent the next two days taking shelter on higher ground, sleeping in a rented car and watching the swollen Trishuli river carry away vehicles, bodies and debris, according to news agency PTI.
Deep Dive
How did a tea break help five friends avoid the Nepal flash floods?
What were the friends' experiences during the Nepal floods after their tea break?
Why was the tea break considered a 'lucky' moment for the group in Nepal?
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A Raksha Bandhan moment amid chaos
Amid the grim situation, one of the most comforting moments came when local women security personnel tied rakhis on their wrists to mark Raksha Bandhan.
Narayan Sen, Dinesh Ojha, Prem Singh Jagat, Yatendra Prakash and Dinesh Singh Thakur, all aged between 50 and 60 years and residents of the Mana Camp area in Raipur, returned home on Saturday after leaving Nepal.
"We were lucky that we stopped for tea on August 26 when the flash floods struck. If we had left 10-15 minutes earlier, we might have got trapped," 53-year-old Sen, who runs a salon said, PTI reported.
{{/usCountry}}"We were lucky that we stopped for tea on August 26 when the flash floods struck. If we had left 10-15 minutes earlier, we might have got trapped," 53-year-old Sen, who runs a salon said, PTI reported.
{{/usCountry}}"Had we not stopped there, we do not know what would have happened," he said.
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From Raipur to Nepal
The five friends had left Raipur on August 21 and reached Nepal the following day. They had hired a car and were planning to visit the Pashupatinath Temple, Manokamana Temple and other tourist attractions during their trip.
On the morning of August 26, at around 9.30-10 am, they stopped for tea at a hotel in Malekhu town in Dhading district.
Their decision to stop soon became crucial to their survival.
"There we learnt that a bridge ahead had been washed away in a flood. The hotel belonged to an Indian, who helped us a lot and provided us food," Sen said.
From the safety of the hotel, the friends soon became eyewitnesses to the scale of the disaster unfolding around them.
"We saw cars being swept away in the Trishuli river. Bodies and a lot of other things were also being carried away by the current. We were scared. There was always a fear that the flood situation might worsen," Sen said.
As the situation deteriorated, the group moved to a higher spot in Malekhu, where they took shelter for the night. With roads disrupted and the surrounding area affected by the floods, they spent the night inside their car. Local residents and authorities also helped them during the difficult hours.
Thakur, 55, a police head constable, said they were around 50 km from Pashupatinath Temple when the floods struck.
"While having tea at the hotel, we noticed people suddenly becoming?? restive. Later, we learnt about the devastation caused by the flood. We heard that entire villages, buildings, offices and hydropower projects had been devastated," he said.
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‘Very difficult to describe in words’
The friends later went to the bank of the Trishuli river to see the situation for themselves. What they witnessed left them shaken.
"What we saw is very difficult to describe in words," said Thakur.
"We kept chanting Lord Shiva's name, and we feel his blessings protected us," he added.
Thakur also praised the local administration and police for helping the group while they remained stranded.
"There was no electricity and water, but the administration and police helped us. They told us that we were at a higher place and should not worry," he said.
Despite the uncertainty around them, the friends were able to remain in contact with their families. They also used the helpline provided by the Indian government to share their location.
"Internet service was working well there, so we remained in contact with our families and did not panic," Thakur said.
The group eventually left Nepal on August 28 and returned home on Saturday.
Amid the devastation and anxiety of the preceding days, however, the five friends experienced a moment of unexpected warmth when local women security personnel tied rakhis on their wrists.
"We were supposed to return from the trip after the Rakhi festival, so our sisters had already given us rakhis. The women security personnel deployed there tied these rakhis on our wrists. That was the most comforting moment," Thakur said.
For the friends, the gesture offered a brief moment of reassurance during an otherwise terrifying experience.
Dinesh Ojha, who runs a tailoring shop, said the scenes they witnessed after the floods would remain with them for a long time.
"We will never be able to forget what we saw. Many people were desperately searching for their missing family members," he said.
After finding shelter, the group spent the night in their car, but the fear of another flood made it difficult to sleep. After two days of uncertainty, the friends were finally able to make their way back home, relieved to have returned safely.