On the morning of 26/8, Zoyal Ghale and his older brother boarded a bus for school in Rasuwa district, northern Nepal. As the floodwaters surged shortly after, Ghale and his friends ran into the forest and climbed tall trees to safety.

Meanwhile, Matti Maya Tamang, 28, Ghale's mother, heard a loud noise while weaving at home. Looking towards the school, she witnessed an ice mass from Langtang Lirung peak collapse, bringing down rocks and soil that flattened the valley. "The floodwaters swept away everything in an instant", Tamang recounted. The mother rushed to her children's school, a 15-minute walk from home, only to find the site unrecognizable, submerged in mud and water. Nearby residential areas were also swept away.

Zoyal Ghale, 8, recounts the event to his mother, Matti Maya Tamang, at a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 28/8. *Photo: Reuters*

On 27/8, rescue teams found Ghale and transported him to Chakra Dev Hospital in Nuwakot district. The boy had a broken right leg, numerous bruises on his face, and clutched a 10 rupee note given to him by police upon arrival.

During this time, Tamang desperately searched for her two children through refugee camps. "I thought the two children had perished", she said. Later, journalist Sahana Bajracharya of Reuters filmed Ghale at the hospital and posted information to find his relatives. A few hours later, Tamang contacted the journalist, learning that Ghale was being treated in Kathmandu and that her older son was safe.

On 28/8, Tamang arrived at the hospital in Kathmandu to pick up her son, using Bajracharya's car due to paralyzed traffic. Her husband, who was working in Japan, also flew back home. "The boy is very active; this is not the first time he has broken a leg", Tamang said.

The ice mass collapse on 26/8 triggered a flash flood along the China-Nepal border. According to UNICEF, the disaster affected 17,000 children in the Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading areas. Nepalese officials reported the flood caused 734 deaths and 2,498 missing. In China, 16 people died and 546 were missing.

Minh Phuong (According to Reuters)