A man stood recording as a massive wave of muddy floodwater rushed towards him. Moments later, the camera began shaking violently as he and several others appeared to scramble through nearby vegetation. The phone continued recording throughout the chaos.
The footage has since gone viral on social media, with users claiming it shows the final moments of a group caught in the devastating Nepal floods. However, India Today could not independently verify the video’s authenticity, its location or the claims circulating alongside it.
The video opens with several men watching a rapidly rising torrent from a patch of vegetation near a flood channel. As the water approaches, panic appears to take over and the men begin running towards what seems to be a safer area.
The camera then moves erratically through the foliage, briefly showing some of the men before eventually pointing towards rocky ground. It continues filming amid the confusion even after the group is no longer visible.
The footage does not actually show the men being swept away. Social media users have claimed that the phone was later recovered from the flood-affected area and that the person filming, along with the others seen in the video, died. However, there has been no official confirmation regarding their identities or what happened to them.
NEPAL FLOOD DEATH TOLL RISES TO 903
The video surfaced as Nepal continued search and rescue operations for thousands of people who remain missing following the August 26 flash floods.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said on Monday that the death toll had climbed to 903, while 4,247 people were still missing and 10,451 had been rescued. Reuters reported that hundreds of workers were feared trapped inside hydropower tunnels.
Rescue teams were carrying out door-to-door searches in several severely affected areas. In places such as Dunge, buildings were buried under thick layers of mud and debris, with some structures covered up to their second floors.
Survivors have also been returning to damaged houses to recover belongings, while civil workers continue searching for people who may be trapped beneath the debris.
SEARCH FOR TRAPPED WORKERS CONTINUES
The Nepali Army rescued three Indian nationals and one Nepali colleague from Chilime village in flood-hit Rasuwa district. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is helping arrange the return of the three Indian survivors.
Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava met the rescued workers and expressed gratitude to the Nepali Army for its assistance.
India has also sent a 19-member forensic team to support DNA testing and the identification of victims.
A specialised Indian team is working alongside the Nepali Army on rescue efforts at hydropower facilities in Chilime and Langtang. Despite difficult weather conditions, the team entered a tunnel near the Langtang project and recovered one body.
Of the 933 hydropower workers who remain unaccounted for, many are feared to be trapped inside tunnels.
