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Son of Indian woman who got stuck, died in burning Nepal hotel recounts horror
With hotel stairways filled with smoke, rescue teams placed mattresses below. The woman slipped, suffered spinal injuries, and later died.
The son of a Ghaziabad woman, who died in Kathmandu after the hotel where she was staying with her husband was torched by violent protesters, alleged that her parents received minimal support from the embassy and that local rescue teams arrived very late.
The couple was on a religious trip to the region when the tragedy struck. Ramveer Singh Gola,58, and his wife Rajesh Devi, 55, had arrived in Kathmandu on September 7 to visit the Pashupatinath temple.
On the night of September 9, violent protesters stormed their five-star hotel and set it ablaze.
With stairways engulfed in smoke, rescue teams placed mattresses below the building and urged guests to jump. Ramveer leapt onto a mattress and sustained minor injuries, while his wife slipped while climbing down and suffered grievous spinal injuries.
She was admitted to a hospital but succumbed to her injuries on the night of September 10, the Times of India reported.
Her mortal remains were brought through the Sonauli border in Maharajganj to Ghaziabad on Thursday, with the last rites scheduled for Friday.
Vishal, the couple’s elder son, said his parents had been elated after offering prayers at the temple on September 8. “They even video-called us to show Kathmandu's sights. But on the night of September 9, chaos erupted. The mob stormed the hotel and set it on fire. As the stairways got filled with smoke, my father broke the windowpane, tied sheets, and jumped onto a mattress. My mother slipped while trying to climb down and fell heavily on her back,” ToI quoted him as saying.
He added that communication blackouts made locating them nearly impossible. “For two days, we didn't know about their whereabouts. Finally, my father was found in a relief camp, but my mother died in the hospital. Embassy support was minimal, and local rescue came very late,” according to the publication.
