"Miraculous Escape": 21 Tamil Nadu Pilgrims Return From Nepal, Recount Horror

For 21 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, returning home on Friday was nothing short of a second birth. They had set out on a pilgrimage to Nepal. But their journey turned into a fight for survival when an avalanche-triggered flash flood struck their convoy, sweeping away two of the three buses.

On Friday, they finally walked out of Chennai airport - shaken, emotional and grateful to be alive.

Among the survivors was Vijayabhuvaneshwari, who vividly recalled the terrifying moment the disaster struck.

"There was a loud noise, like a bomb blast, when the flash floods struck our convoy of three buses. The vehicle in front of us and the one behind us locked our vehicle, and we climbed on top to save ourselves. Then we climbed the hill where there was an Armed Reserve Police camp. The police helped us and gave us shelter," she told NDTV.

Asked if she ever thought she would make it back home, her answer revealed the enormity of what she had gone through.

"90 percent no. I only thought about my daughter."

For Kirubathiri, the experience has changed the way she looks at life - and the climate crisis.

"It is a new birth for me. I cannot complain. Climate change is real, and the poor always pay a heavy price for the climate wrongs of others," she said.

For senior citizen pilgrim Vallinayaki, the force of nature was almost impossible to comprehend.

"It was a miraculous escape. It was like a volcanic eruption of concrete, devouring us," she recalled.

The relief was equally palpable at the Chennai airport, where families waited anxiously to embrace those who had made it back.

For Sriram, the ordeal had been a nightmare as his mother-in-law was among those who could not initially be contacted. Her return brought an overwhelming sense of relief to the family.

His little daughter Mahalakshmi was waiting for one thing - to see her grandmother and speak to her after the frightening uncertainty.

But for several other families, the wait continues.

Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Raj Mohan said around 400 people from Tamil Nadu may have travelled to Nepal around this time. While 140 people from the state have been rescued and are safe in Nepal, at least 80 are still believed to be missing, with efforts under way to bring those rescued to Kathmandu and then back to India.

A team of four Tamil Nadu ministers was deployed to Delhi to coordinate the return of the rescued pilgrims. Water Resources Minister Bussy Anand said the government would do everything possible to trace those still unaccounted for.

"Four ministers have been assigned to coordinate from Delhi. We would do everything required to trace the missing people," he said.

At the airport, however, government assurances offered little comfort to families still waiting for definitive information.

Praveen, whose father is missing, had come to the airport hoping for good news. Instead, he left disappointed that there was still no government-verified list from either the Centre or the state of those missing and rescued.

"We need a government-verified list. Now there is confusion. We are happy for those who have returned. We hope our dad too would soon return," he said.

The challenge over establishing an accurate list was also reflected in a PIL filed in the Madras High Court on Friday, seeking clarity and action over the Tamil Nadu pilgrims caught up in the Nepal disaster.