It was Saturday morning!
Chaniklal Tamang, a resident of Kavre Temal, visited the severely flooded Nakhkhu river in Lalitpur after two days of heavy rainfall. He left home at 7 am with his wife and daughter and observed the affected area.
It must have been around 8 am, his wife pointed to the man being swept away by the swollen river and said in her mother tongue -- "Nani's papa, Ni Dhyongsi Khajim," -- baby's daddy, the man is being flown away.
No sooner Mrs Urlimaya Syangtan told him, than Chaniklal bravely jumped into the Nakhkhu rivulet.
Like the year 2038 BS, Nakhkhu rivulet was raging with tempestuous currents. According to locals, such a flooding had occurred only in 2038 BS. Chaniklal jumped into the raging Nakhkhu rivulet, which swept away the bridge and nearby houses. In a few seconds, he reached out to the person being flown away.
"The river was surging with high currents. After reaching out twice, I managed to grab the hand of the person who was being swept away. He was also holding a minor girl," Chaniklal Tamang told Nepalkhabar. "I managed to get him out of the river to the shore in about four minutes."
According to him, the girl had inhaled a significant amount of water. Other people who were present helped to expel the water from her lungs."
"As soon as the water was expelled, the minor girl screamed, "Where is Baba?" Tamang added. "The man also said that he was feeling dizzy.''
It was later reported that four people were swept away by the flood from a zinc-roofed hut located approximately 500 meters upstream.
One of the four persons is still missing. Another person was rescued a few meters downstream. He was the girl's father.
During the rescue, former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nepal Police, Ashok Singh, also arrived there. After Chaniklal rescued the two, Singh drove them in his vehicle to Patan Hospital for treatment. "They were admitted to the emergency ward. The condition of them is out of danger," DIG Singh quoted medics as saying.
Video:
Police witnessed the man being swept away, but could not enter the river
After the flood surged in the Nakhkhu rivulet, the police warned people not to stay near the river on Friday evening. So most of them had already left the place.
The rain increased on Saturday morning. After 6 am, when the flood started to surge, the zinc-roofed hut near the river was surrounded by flood. Four people called out for help, but their cries vanished into the roar of the raging river. They, then, sought refuge on the roof of their hut and frantically waved their arms in hopes of being rescued.
Jivan Pokharel captured the video.
The police also arrived. But, they could not dare enter the tempestuous river.
As the police looked on, the four people were swept away along with the hut. "Despite witnessing them being swept away by the flood, the police were unable to rescue them," says Chaniklal, "I only came to know when my wife told me that people were drowning, and I immediately jumped into the river with my clothes."
According to him, all the people who were flown away by the flooding are workers in grill factories. It is revealed that they are from Rautahat.
Rescued Raju Sah, Raj Sah, and Meghana Sah are undergoing treatment at Patan Hospital. The hospital said that their health condition is improving.
Setu Sah is missing.
Raju and Raj are siblings. Both Meghana and Setu are daughters of Raju.
The police, citing the rescued persons, said that another person, Devraj Karki of Okhaldhunga, is missing from the same place.
Sah family undergoing treatment at Patan Hospital.
Chaniklal used to swim in Sunkoshi
Chaniklal, 36, grew up in Temal village of Kavre. He explained that his previous experience swimming in the Sunkoshi River gave him the courage to dive into the Nakhkhu River.
"The Sunkoshi River is big, I got courage because I was swimming in it," he said, "I rescued only two people among those swept away today."
Chaniklal worked in Dubai for 2 years
After staying in Dubai for two years, Chaniklal returned to Nepal. He initially resided in Bhaktapur before moving to Lalitpur Metropolitan Municipality-25 five months ago.
Chaniklal, currently, works as a house painter.
Despite the urgent need for rescue efforts in the event of such a natural disaster, the federal capital of Kathmandu Valley failed to act swiftly. A young girl tragically disappeared after pleading for help for an hour from a rooftop surrounded by floodwaters.
