A Russian tourist said she and her group narrowly escaped the devastating floods near the Nepal-China border after using a concrete staircase to reach higher ground as a massive wave swept through the area.
Katrín Kras said 12 people, including eight foreigners and four Nepali nationals, were traveling on a bus near the border when the flood struck at around 8:46 a.m. The group had stopped near a Nepalese immigration facility when the wave suddenly arrived.
“We only survived because our bus was next to a staircase,” Kras said in a video message shared on social media. She explained that the group ran up the staircase and continued climbing to escape the rushing water.
According to Kras, another bus carrying elderly passengers was also saved because the same staircase provided access to higher ground. She said that being just a few dozen meters farther or closer could have had a fatal outcome because the surrounding terrain offered little opportunity to escape the torrent.
The group remained stranded in the area on August 26 and was evacuated the following day. Kras said communication was lost around 1 p.m., while helicopters began flying over the area roughly an hour after the flood.
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She also shared footage showing the massive wave and the destruction left behind.
