Chandika Kumari Shrestha's family had already begun traditional mourning rituals, convinced she had died, when the Nepali woman was found alive inside her house destroyed by the flash floods affecting Nepal. Chandika survived in a small space with air between water, mud and the debris of the dwelling, in the devastated locality of Betrawati, one of the most affected areas.
The death toll in the country rose to 1355, eleven days after a glacial collapse triggered the floods. The elderly woman was in her house, but on a different street from where the deposits resembled concrete and quicksand.
Chandika screamed "save me" when she was discovered, according to Reuters reports, managing to survive for ten days in extreme conditions.
