‘A warrior’: How a 97-year-old survived Nepal’s devastating floods

A 97-year-old woman has become a symbol of hope after footage of her dramatic rescue from beneath the rubble of a care home following Nepal’s devastating flash floods went viral. Guna Maya Bohara was pulled alive after rescuers spent several hours searching through the debris on the first day of the disaster.

Guna Maya Bohara was trapped under debris when torrents swept through the area on Wednesday. Police and Nepal Army personnel spent around four hours clearing the wreckage before rescuing her alive.

Her great-nephew, Dipak Bohara, had travelled from Kathmandu to help with the rescue. Speaking to BBC Nepali, he said his great-aunt looked like “a warrior” returning victorious from battle after emerging from the destruction.

Images of Bohara, covered in mud and exhausted, being carried to safety in the bucket of an excavator have since gone viral, turning her rescue into one of the most striking stories of survival from the disaster.

Doctors say Bohara is recovering in hospital. She has reportedly been unable to explain how she survived being trapped beneath the debris.

Her survival comes as Nepal continues to grapple with one of its worst disasters in recent years. The flash floods struck on August 26 after what scientists believe was a glacier collapse in the Himalayan border region, sending a torrent of water, rock, ice and mud through river valleys.

According to the latest reports, at least 675 people have died in Nepal, while nearly 2,500 remain missing. Across Nepal and Tibet, the combined death toll has reached at least 691, with almost 3,000 people still unaccounted for. More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal.

The disaster has destroyed roads, bridges, power infrastructure and communities along the route linking Kathmandu with Tibet. Rescue teams are also facing the threat of further flooding from debris-dammed bodies of water.

Amid the devastation, Bohara’s survival has offered a rare moment of hope — a 97-year-old woman emerging from the wreckage alive after hours beneath the rubble.

With inputs from Agencies