‘Soul-shaking’ ordeal: Survivor recounts harrowing escape

“My soul trembled witnessing it.” The 20-year-old survivor of the sudden flashflood in Dharamsala’s Manuni Khud, Lovely Kumar, recounted the harrowing moments when nature unleashed its fury without warning.

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Lovely, a native of Chamba district, had arrived in the area only two days ago for work. On the fateful evening of Wednesday, he and 12 other labourers were inside a tin shed close to the rivulet when a deafening roar of gushing water shattered the silence.

“It was like death charging towards us,” he said, struggling to contain his emotions.

“We rushed out of the shed as soon as we heard the sound, but by then the raging waters had already reached us. In panic, everyone tried to run. Only five of us managed to run towards the hillside. The others—eight of our colleagues—were swept away along with the sheds in the current of water,” he said.

Lovely, driven by sheer survival instinct, rushed into the nearby forests, climbing steep terrain towards the upper reaches of the hill, even as torrential rain continued to pour.

“There was fear of landslides. The ground beneath my feet was slippery but I didn’t stop. I just kept climbing,” he recalled.

After ascending roughly 1.5 km, he reached a flat patch where he could finally rest. The night was pitch-dark, echoing with the ominous roar of the swollen rivulet. Wet to the bone, shivering and exhausted, Lovely sat under a tree, constantly praying for his life. “The fear of wild animals gripped me, but I had no option except to wait for dawn,” he said.

Around midnight, fatigue overpowered fear. He drifted into a restless sleep for a couple of hours, waking to the pale light of early morning and clearer skies. “When I saw daylight and the weather clearing up, I felt a glimmer of hope—relief that I was alive.”

As he cautiously made his way down the hill, rescue teams from the NDRF and SDRF spotted him and safely brought him to Lugta village.

The terrifying flashflood, likely triggered by heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas, has left several labourers missing and triggered a full-scale rescue operation.

For Lovely, the trauma may linger forever, but his survival is a testament to human endurance and the will to live—even in the face of nature’s deadliest adversity.