Bhubaneswar: Timely alert by Nepal police saved the lives of 51 Indians, including two from Bhadrak in Odisha, who were at Trishuli river valley, when floodwaters came rushing in, sweeping away roads and inundating large stretches.The group of 51, comprising a travel agency owner and tourist from Bhadrak, one from Kolkata, 43 from Kerala and five cooks from different states, is now safe in Bhairahawa city, which is unaffected by the disaster. They now plan to travel by bus to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and then take a train to Kolkata on Aug 31, before returning to their respective hometowns.The group arrived in Nepal by bus on Aug 22. On Aug 26 morning, they were travelling in a small bus to a site near Rasuwa district, moving uphill along Trishuli river when they had their close shave with the floods. The group had travelled around 200km beyond Kathmandu towards the mountainous region when water from Lehend Khola and Bhotekoshi river systems in Rasuwa district, carrying huge quantities of ice, rocks and debris, surged into the Trishuli.“We were only a few kilometres away from our destination when the floodwaters came gushing in,” said Ramesh Das, the tourist from Bhadrak.Before they could reach their destination, local police alerted the group about the rapidly worsening situation and advised them to turn back and move to a safer location. Kailash Biswal, the other Bhadrak resident who runs a travel agency in Kolkata that had organised the trip, used his experience of travelling in the region and knowledge of the local terrain to guide the driver. “Biswal asked the driver to drive fast along Trishuli river. Nepal police and army were a huge help. They guided us to safety,” Das said, adding they managed to move away from the danger zone just in time.Within 30 minutes, they saw the devastation unfolding behind them. Roads began caving in, while thick, mud-laden floodwaters swept through areas along the river, submerging and burying everything in their path. “Within 30 minutes, the devastation was visible when we looked behind. I have never seen such a powerful surge of water, sediment and boulders before. Had we not left the spot on time, we would have been killed,” Das recalled.The group eventually took shelter uphill near Manakamana temple, overlooking the Trishuli. As the Trishuli continued to swell and the threat of landslides and further flooding persisted, Nepal police and local authorities moved them to a safer location. They were subsequently taken to Bhairahawa, where they are currently staying at a hotel.