From Funeral Rites to Tears of Relief: Chandika Found Alive After 11 Days

NUWAKOT, NEPAL, SEPTEMBER 5, 2026

A Rescue Few Thought Possible

Chandika Shrestha, a resident of Bidur Municipality–10, was rescued alive from a flood-buried house in Betrawati, Nuwakot, on Saturday, 11 days after the August 26 Bhote Koshi floods left her missing. Rescue personnel reached her after hearing a woman's voice from inside the damaged structure, where she was found on the upper floor, partly trapped in mud and debris. Her family had already begun her funeral rites after days of searching failed to find her.

Eight Days of Searching, Then a Painful Goodbye

For more than a week, Chandika's family searched for her without success. The flood had devastated Betrawati, damaging and burying homes and making parts of the affected area extremely difficult to search.

By the eighth day without any sign of Chandika, her relatives believed she had died. Following traditional practice in the absence of a body, the family made a symbolic body from kusha grass and began the rituals performed for the deceased.

Her sons had entered the mourning period believing their mother would never return home.

Then Rescuers Heard a Voice

Everything changed on the 11th day.

While personnel were working around the flood-damaged structures in Betrawati, rescuers heard a faint voice coming from the debris. They followed the sound toward the partially buried house and began working to reach the person inside.

Reports indicate that rescuers cleared mud and sludge and entered through part of the damaged structure before reaching Chandika on the upper floor.

Against extraordinary odds, the missing woman was alive.

A House Shifted and Buried by the Flood

Detailed reports say the force of the flood had displaced the house and left much of the structure buried beneath mud and debris, while part of its upper section remained accessible.

Chandika was found on the fourth-floor area, partly trapped in mud. Initial accounts described her as unconscious or semi-conscious when rescuers reached her, while other reports said she was later able to drink water and communicate.

Exactly how she managed to survive for so long inside the damaged building has not yet been officially established.

From the Debris to Medical Care

After being freed, Chandika received initial medical attention before being evacuated by helicopter to the Nepali Army facility in Trishuli.

She was subsequently taken to Kathmandu for further treatment. Later reports said she required additional treatment related to her knee.

For a woman who had been missing for more than a week and a family that had already begun mourning her death, simply reaching a hospital alive represented an extraordinary change in circumstances.

A Family Leaves the Mourning House

The news transformed grief into disbelief and relief.

After Chandika was confirmed alive, the death rituals being performed for her were formally ended. Local reports said her sons left the mourning house after the family completed the appropriate religious process to discontinue the rites.

But the family's ordeal is not completely over. Chandika's husband, Anand Shrestha, was still reported missing following the disaster.

Her Rescue Brings New Hope

Chandika's survival did more than reunite a family with someone they believed they had lost.

Around the same period, rescuers also pulled survivors alive from hydropower tunnels in the flood-hit region, including workers trapped for more than a week. Those late rescues have challenged assumptions about how long survivors could remain trapped in isolated pockets after the disaster.

For families still searching for missing relatives, every successful rescue matters.

A Call to Search Every Possible Space

Following Chandika's discovery, people in Betrawati called for damaged and buried houses in the area to be thoroughly searched.

If one person could remain alive inside a structure for 11 days, residents argued that rescuers should not abandon potentially accessible spaces without checking them carefully.

Chandika's story therefore carries a message beyond one remarkable survival: as long as rescuers have reasonable places left to search, families still waiting for answers have reason to hold onto hope.

From Goodbye to a Second Chance

Only days earlier, Chandika's family was performing rituals to say goodbye.

Then came a sound from beneath the destruction.

A rescue team followed it, and a woman believed to be dead was carried out alive.

For a country surrounded by stories of loss after the devastating floods, Chandika Shrestha's rescue became something desperately needed—a reminder that even after many days of silence, a search can still end with someone coming home.