The Nepali Army (NA) has safely rescued five people including two children stranded due to the swollen Mahakali River in Kanchanpur district on Tuesday.
The rescue team brought back two children and three adults from Masetti of Bhimdutta Municipality-9 in the district after they were stranded due to the flooded Mahakali River for 22 hours.
NA airlifted Laxam Nayak and his spouse Laxmi Nayak, their two sons and a local named Dirghamati Devi Khadak. The rain-triggered flood in Mahakali River entered in Mahakali human settlement since Monday and left those five stranded.
Although the rescue team had attempted to rescue since yesterday morning, they could not owing to adverse weather. "All streams and rivers here are swollen. We could not go for rescue through roads. A helicopter was flown from Surkhet district to airlift the stranded ones," said chief of Shreedal Company Major Bhisma KC.
The rescued people expressed their joy for being flown to safety. Shanti Nayak cried, "We had given up our hope that we would be alive. We stayed afloat in the trees that were swept away by the flood."
Some 45 to 50 households at Masseti were at risk of flood while around a dozen of houses were swept away by the flood in Mahakali River, shared Harish Saud, a local.
Locals had informed local administration the moment five persons were learned to be stranded on Monday night. Gomati Dhami, another local, added "Our happiness knew no bounds when we saw a helicopter coming over."
They were all thankful to the NA for saving them from the jaw of death. The helicopter had landed in a narrow strip of land for rescue purpose, they narrated.
The water flow in Mahakali River on Tuesday noon was measured at 547,000 cusec, the highest in eight years. Many river basin areas have been inundated due to flooded Mahakali River.
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