4 days ago
Eight-Year-Old Reunites With Mother After Surviving Nepal Floods
An eight-year-old boy named Zoyal was at school when a huge flood struck Nepal.
He ran into a forest with a friend and climbed trees to stay above the water.
He hurt his leg and face but survived.
Rescuers took him to a hospital, but they did not know where his family was.
His mother searched many shelters because she feared her children had died.
A Reuters journalist who met Zoyal left her phone number at the hospital.
The journalist told his mother that Zoyal was alive and had been moved to Kathmandu.
His mother traveled there and reunited with him on Friday.
She also found Zoyal’s younger brother alive.
Eight-year-old Zoyal Ghale escaped a devastating flood by running into a forest and climbing trees.
Ghale was airlifted from Rasuwa with a broken right leg and cuts and bruises on his face.
His mother, Matti Maya Tamang, searched shelters and collection points after fearing both sons had died.
Reuters journalist Sahana Bajracharya helped Tamang locate Ghale after meeting him at a hospital in Nuwakot.
At least 17,000 children were affected, while at least 580 people died and around 2,500 remained missing in Nepal and Tibet.
- Who
- Eight-year-old Zoyal Ghale, his mother Matti Maya Tamang, his younger brother, rescuers, and Reuters journalist Sahana Bajracharya.
- What
- Zoyal survived a destructive flood by climbing trees and was reunited with his mother.
- Where
- The disaster hit Nepal’s Rasuwa district and affected areas including Nuwakot, Dhading, and Tibet; the reunion took place at a hospital in Kathmandu.
- When
- The flood struck on Wednesday; Zoyal was found Thursday and reunited with his mother Friday.
- Why
- Part of a glacier near Langtang Lirung collapsed, causing an avalanche of ice and rock, a landslide, and flooding.
Key facts
- Child survivor
- Zoyal Ghale, 8
- Mother
- Matti Maya Tamang, 28
- Injuries
- Broken right leg, facial cuts, and bruises
- Affected children
- At least 17,000 across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading
- Confirmed deaths
- At least 580 in Nepal and China’s Tibet
- Missing people
- Around 2,500 in Nepal and China’s Tibet
- Reunion assistance
- Reuters journalist Sahana Bajracharya helped Tamang locate Zoyal
Quotes
Matti Maya Tamang
Mother of Zoyal Ghale who searched for her children after the floods
“I had come to accept that both my children were no more. All I could do was weep. I couldn’t hold myself together at all.”
news18.com
“You could not understand where the school was, where the market was. There was only water, stones and mud everywhere.”
NDTV
Sources
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