Nepali Woman Found Alive in Collapsed Home Days After Mourning Began

Rescuers found Chandika Kumari Shrestha alive inside her collapsed home in Betrawati village, Nepal, ten days after her family began mourning rites, believing she had perished in the deadly floods.

Police officer Mahendra Darnal and his team found Shrestha in a confined space during a 45-minute rescue operation on Saturday, sending her to an army hospital. Shrestha survived in a narrow pocket of air amid water and mud within her four-storey house, which had been swept away. Darnal reported hearing a voice saying save me.

Rescuers found two more people alive on Saturday, joining two saved the day before, with three found in hydropower tunnels. Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha stated search and rescue operations continue despite multiple challenges. Prime Minister Balendra Shah said Chandrika Shrestha's rescue given hope to the entire nation. The disaster, triggered by a glacial collapse and ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, has killed at least 1,344 people in Nepal, with nearly 5,000 still missing.

More than 13,100 people have been rescued. Identifying the dead remains a major challenge, with many bodies severely damaged or decomposed. Only 98 bodies had been identified. Nepal Police collect DNA samples from relatives to identify unclaimed bodies. The disaster also killed at least 31 people in China, with over 500 missing in Tibet. Malaysia sent DNA samples to identify 55 missing Malaysians.