Nepali Laborer Survives Flash Flood by Clinging to Mango Tree

A 24-year-old Nepali laborer survived being swept away by a devastating flash flood after clinging to a mango tree, as the death toll from the disaster near the Nepal-Tibet border rose to at least 475. Bibek Kumal was digging a toilet pit in Bidur, downstream from the worst-hit Rasuwa district, when the torrent struck on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. Kumal was working outside a newly constructed house when he heard a hissing sound. His four coworkers, standing above the five-foot-deep pit, shouted for him to run. By the time he scrambled out, they had already fled. "I started running.