‘Relieved to be back but worried about colleague, others stuck there’
Times of India | 31 August 2026
I have travelled to many places but I have never experienced such a terrifying natural disaster. My Nepal trip was meant to be a dream journey to Kailash-Mansarovar.
As we set out towards Mansarovar, our driver suddenly turned the vehicle back after receiving news of a flash flood near the Nepal-China border, shortly before Kerung. That quick decision saved our lives, and today we have finally returned home.
Last year, too, we had travelled to Himachal Pradesh, where we were stranded for five days because of landslides. But it was nothing compared to the horror we witnessed in Nepal.
My former colleague from Basirhat Town School, Swapan Mondal, and his wife had also boarded the Mithila Express from Howrah to Raxaul on Aug 21, travelling with a group arranged by a different tour operator.
Swapan and I had travelled together to several places in the past. This time, we travelled separately from Kathmandu towards Kerung. The Mondals were expected to reach the Kerung immigration centre around 9.30 am on Wednesday while our vehicle was scheduled to arrive around 10.30 am. The Mondals reached the centre on time and even took photographs there. Swapan later sent me one of those photographs. Unfortunately, after the disaster, we lost contact with the couple.
Our vehicle turned back just 40m-50m away from the point where the disaster occurred. We could see what appeared like a huge mass rushing down the gorge and hear a roar, but we had no idea of the catastrophe unfolding at Kerung. Our driver immediately took us back towards Kathmandu.
A few minutes later, we saw local residents and schoolchildren running uphill in panic, screaming and crying. Only after returning to our hotel in Kathmandu did we realise how narrowly we had escaped death. Had we been a little early, there would have been no chance of our returning home.
We feel relieved but, at the same time, we are deeply pained on hearing news of people who lost their lives. Our only prayer now is that Swapan and his wife, along with all the other missing tourists, return home safely.
(Retired schoolteacher of Basirhat Town School Anukul Poddar spoke to Sanjib Chakraborty)