Nepal Principal Saves 1,643 Children Moments Before Flash Flood Destroys School

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) [Editor's note: Follow Khaleej Times' live coverage of the Nepal-China floods and the ongoing rescue efforts]

A school principal in Nepal helped save 1,643 children after acting quickly as a devastating flash flood swept through the Trishuli valley.

Recommended For You

Rajendra Dadabi, the 47-year-old principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, received a warning at around 9.20 am on Wednesday, August 26, that floodwaters were rapidly approaching, according to a report by The Times.

About 900 children were already at the school, while another 700 were travelling there on foot and by bus.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Dadabi told The Times that a friend in Betrawati, around five miles upstream, called him in a panic and warned him that the village had been swept away.

After another parent arrived at the school and warned that the water was rising quickly, Dadabi rang the school bell and instructed teachers to evacuate the classrooms.

He then remembered that several school buses, each carrying around 80 children, were still on their way.

Dadabi managed to contact all but one of the drivers and instructed them to turn back. The remaining bus was already crossing a bridge near the school when he spotted it.

With water already entering the school grounds, he told the driver to turn around. The bus reached the other side shortly before the bridge collapsed.

The children at the school were sent uphill on foot and eventually took shelter under a bodhi tree as the floodwaters swept away their school buildings.

All 1,643 pupils survived.

However, social history teacher Santos Pariyar, 32, was killed after returning to his accommodation beside the river, while school janitor Sultan Lama was also swept away after going back towards the school.

Despite locals describing him as a hero, Dadabi played down his actions.

"What else could I do?" he told The Times.

The dramatic rescue came as Nepal continues to grapple with one of its deadliest recent natural disasters. A glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday, August 26, sent a massive torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through mountain river systems, sweeping away homes, bridges and entire settlements.

At least 633 people had been confirmed dead by Saturday, with nearly 3,000 reported missing, according to the latest figures reported by Khaleej Times. Thousands of people have been rescued, while authorities continue to monitor the risk of further flooding from unstable lakes upstream.

Rasuwa district in northern Nepal was among the first areas hit before the floodwaters surged downstream, devastating communities including Trishuli in Nuwakot district.

ALSO READ

Nepal resumes bid to reach over 100 trapped tunnel workers on fifth day of rescue efforts Nepal-Tibet flash floods: 90 Americans, 100 Chinese nationals among 3,000 missing At least 682 killed, nearly 3,000 missing in deadly Nepal floods

MENAFN30082026000049011007ID1111596890