A helicopter pilot who witnessed the massive flood near the Nepal-China border on Wednesday from the air described the incident as horrific, stating the flood waves were 5 to 6 metres high.
Pilot Aman Budhathoki told CNN he happened to see the riverbed just minutes before the floodwater rushed in. He described witnessing dust billowing over the riverbed. Initially, he assumed it was a landslide or the military had used explosives for road construction. Within seconds, a black flood of silt and debris began to flow rapidly.
Budhathoki added that flood waves were as high as five to six metres. The gushing water carried large trees and vehicles, while he observed nature’s fury hovering above the Bhotekoshi River from the helicopter.
He said he attempted to follow the flood's flow for some time to assess the extent of the damage.
Another eyewitness, Kapil Pakhrin, who managed to escape the flood, told Nepali Raibar that mudslides and landslides that accompanied the floods swept away police posts, customs offices, hotels, shops, and vehicles parked along the roadside in the Timure Bazaar area. He described how the flood was accompanied by wind, clouds, dust, smoke, and mud, which he said came from China.
According to him, they were in Rasuwa Bazaar about an hour before the incident. "Suddenly, a wind came from above, with clouds, dust, smoke, and mud. If we had stayed there, we would have drowned in the river," he said.
Another resident of Timure said there was nothing left in the town. “I was having breakfast at around 8:40 am when news came that a flood had hit Timure. I heard people saying, ‘Timure is completely gone, nothing is left’. I hurriedly rushed outside. I saw Betrawati looking terrifying. It looked as if a massive whirlpool was sweeping through the river along with a roaring sound. The whole village shook. It felt like an earthquake. The market and the settlement were gone right before our eyes,” he told a local newspaper.
“Betrawati river is about 5 kilometres away from my home. It takes about 25 minutes on foot, but it looks nearby when viewed from here,” he added.
