At Nepal's Nuwakot airbase, families wait for a name, a miracle

Families at Nepal's Nuwakot airbase are searching rescue lists and incoming flights for missing relatives after the flash floods. As helicopters become the only lifeline to cut-off areas, each sortie brings either reunion or prolonged uncertainty.India Today's Ashutosh Mishra reports from a Nuwakot airbase which has turned into a rescue centre.At an airbase in Nepal’s Nuwakot, one of the worst-hit districts in the catastrophic flash floods, the roar of rescue helicopters is competing with something quieter but just as powerful — the desperate pleas of families searching for their missing loved ones.As a massive air evacuation operation gets underway, India Today’s Ashutosh Mishra reports from the rescue centre, where people from across the flood-hit areas are arriving with the same desperate question: “Have you seen my family member?”The airbase has become a crucial command-and-control centre for the rescue operation, with helicopters ferrying survivors from areas cut off by the destruction of roads and bridges.At a help desk, police personnel are recording the names and contact details of missing people. Every new helicopter sortie brings the possibility of a reunion. But for many families, the wait has become agonising.A girl who arrived hoping to find her father's name on the list of rescued people broke down in tears when she could not find him.For others, the search has been going on for days."Our uncle is missing. I have been coming here for the last three days. I am still lost but till now I have no idea where," a man told India Today.The airbase is now filled with scenes of grief and hope — students, elderly people and families searching through lists, approaching officials and waiting for information about those who disappeared when the floods tore through their homes and communities.'HE WILL RETURN... I THINK SO'One man, Mohan, came to the rescue centre looking for his brother. Asked whether he still believed his brother would return, he said, "He will return. I think so. But the connection is not good. Where is he? How is he? In what condition is he? What is he doing? I don't know."Another woman described checking the rescue lists repeatedly, hoping to find her family members.“I have come to know about them, but I have not heard anything yet. Where were they? They were in Timure. They were in Rasuwagadhi. There was a driver who used to drive a car. He has been missing for three days now,” she said.Timure and Rasuwagadhi have suffered massive destruction in the wake of the monster deluge, with entire stretches reduced to rubble.Then came a moment of relief."Is there a name in this? I see the name. Not just one. Yesterday morning, I had written his name. Now it is on the rescued list. Not just one. Those are the people who have been saved. Yes, he has been saved. I am seeing his name."For every such moment of relief, there are families still waiting.'SUDDENLY EVERYONE LEFT'Among those who made it to safety is Shreyas, a college student whose neighbourhood has been devastated.The area where he lived, he said, had been wiped out, and his house is gone. After learning about the situation involving his parents, he crossed the river and reached a safer area in Trishuli Bazaar.Now, he is trying to find a way to reach his parents.Shreyas recalled the terrifying moment the flood hit while he was in college."I was in college. Suddenly, everyone left. There was a huge flood in the river. We were all in panic. We were in college on this side of the river. We were studying there. Suddenly, everyone left."Asked if he was scared, he said," Yes, I was very scared. We went to the height of the river. After coming to a safe place, we called our family for an hour or two. We did not keep a call. There was a lot of tension going on."His friends have also survived and are staying with relatives."There were many people who were lucky that day."They were lucky to be saved. But hundreds of others could not be.HELICOPTERS ARE NOW LIFELINESThe rescue operation has resumed on a massive scale, with helicopters flying repeated sorties from the Nuwakot base to evacuate people stranded in the worst-hit upper areas.According to the ground report, helicopters are landing one after another, with sorties being conducted throughout the day to bring out as many people as possible.Children from schools have also been among those evacuated and brought to safer areas before being moved onwards.The operation involves the Nepalese government, army, police and other authorities, with helicopters also carrying essential aid and medicines to affected areas.The scale of the operation is dictated by one major constraint: there is almost no alternative to air evacuation in several areas.With roads and bridges destroyed or blocked, rescue teams are relying heavily on helicopters to reach stranded communities.But there is only a limited window each day. The rescue operation comes to a halt after sunset, making every daylight hour critical.For the families gathered at Nuwakot airbase, therefore, every helicopter that appears on the horizon carries more than survivors or supplies.- EndsPublished By: Karishma Saurabh KalitaPublished On: Aug 28, 2026 11:01 IST