Three compatriots are still missing after the floods in Nepal. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also committed to securing the Italians who have been tracked down and returning them home. Among these is Stefano Lotumolo, a Tuscan photographer who was rescued together with other tourists. The man was in one of the areas hit by the avalanche of ice, water and mud, but managed to escape. “Death knocked on the bus and told us: get off, it’s not your time,” he told Adnkronos.
Massacre between Tibet and Nepal, a thousand missing: the collapse of the glacier, the earthquake and then the river of water, mud and rocks
The story
“We had left the day before for a spiritual journey to Mount Kailash, considered the home of the god Shiva”, recalls Lotumolo. “We had reached a village that no longer exists today, it was completely wiped out. The place where we slept no longer exists. And we lost documents, money, everything. It was a real nightmare. Even if for us, in the end, it was a blessing,” he declares.
The photographer witnessed the tragedy firsthand: “We were on the bus, about 20 meters from where the disaster occurred. Ten meters from us we saw a gigantic wave of mud and debris coming from the mountain. There was a crazy noise. We immediately understood that something was happening.” The group heard a roar: “The mass of water, mud and debris passed about ten meters from us, dragging away the other buses in front. We had twenty seconds to get out of our vehicle and save ourselves.”
For Lotumolo, “out of an entire kilometre-long valley, only two buses remained standing, including ours. Evidently our moment had not yet come. I still cannot rationalize what happened. Many people died, in my opinion many more than those who are reported”.
The helicopter transfer
After the tragedy, the group spent a night in a makeshift accommodation on a mountain, together with the local population: “The village had been obliterated, there was nothing left. We were helped by the residents and the guides, there was total unity in that moment.” The following morning the Nepalese military intervened: “They were very efficient. First they looked for the survivors and then, as soon as the weather improved, the helicopters arrived and took us away.”
Now Lotumolo is in a hotel in Kathmandu, waiting to complete the procedures for his return: “We still don’t know exactly when we will be able to return. After all, we have lost all our documents and there is a lot of paperwork to do, but somehow we will return. The agency with which we were making the trip is following us, the staff is very helpful”.