‘Saw death from close’: 8 Assam workers rescued from Nepal return; 8 missing

For two days, the group lived on a hilltop without food or clean water. Relief finally came when Nepalese military helicopters spotted the men.

Eight workers from Assam who were stranded by the devastating flash floods in Nepal on August 26 arrived home late Sunday, bringing relief to their families even as eight of their colleagues remain missing.

“We thought something big had happened and just started running,” said Pankaj Barman, one of the survivours

The men were working on the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal’s mountainous terrain when a wave of mud water made its way through the valley, flattening towns.

“The sound was massive,” recalled Pankaj Barman, one of the survivors. “We thought something big had happened and just started running.”

For two days, the group lived on a hilltop without food or clean water. Relief finally came when Nepalese military helicopters spotted the men.

“After two days, army choppers spotted us and supplied water and biscuits. Two days later, they shifted us to Kathmandu,” said Gautam Das, a worker from Hojai district.

Das said that he came close to the raging waters but somehow managed to escape. “I saw death from close and I was lucky to survive,” he said.

Apart from Gautam Das and Pankaj Barman, the other six residents who returned to the state have been identified as Gopal Chand Debnath, Samar Bezbaruah, Sarvishan Marak, Saneswar Narzary, Silva Marak, and Elipson Sangma.

They said there were five more from the state’s Nagaon, Nalbari, and Karbi Anglong districts who were were working in the same plant, but they had been missing since August 26.

Barman said they returned to Assam late Sunday evening after a long journey.

“Finally, we are going home,” he said.

In all, he said there were 13 Assam residents working in the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project.

After the floods, the Assam government opened helpline numbers for residents stranded or missing in Nepal, and were contacted by the eight persons.

Family members of eight more Assam residents also reached out through the helpline, but according to the state government, no direct contact has been made with the missing persons yet.