Bhadrak, Sept. 1 -- Surviving by a matter of minutes as raging floodwaters tore through Nepal, Ramesh Das of Bhadrak, Odisha, recalled the harrowing ordeal that left him and his group fearing for their lives during the catastrophic August 26 flash floods after he made a safe return.

Das said his group began their journey towards Kathmandu on August 26, travelling along the banks of the Trishuli River, where they were alerted about the disaster.

"After about 40 to 50 kilometres, the police and army personnel stopped us. They told us that a huge disaster was heading this way and instructed us to immediately turn the vehicle around and flee. We quickly turned our vehicle around and fled. But if we had been delayed by even 10 to 15 minutes,...