Miracle in Nepal: How a 97-Year-Old Grandmother Survived After Being Rescued in a Digger Bucket

Video footage of Gunmaya Bohra, 97, sitting in the bucket of a mechanical digger and caked from head to toe in mud has become one of the defining moments of Nepal’s devastating floods. In the viral images, Ms Bohra sits silently as rescuers carry her through mud and debris with her face, hair, and clothes coated in thick grey-brown sludge.

Four days after the disaster, The National tracked down Ms Bohra and her family at Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital, where she was recovering after being rescued from the flood-hit area of Kabilash in Nuwakot. The elderly woman was resting in a hospital bed surrounded by relatives, and although she had escaped serious injury, she was too frail to speak initially. For the first two or three days following her rescue, her family noted she remained silent. Her grandson, Rasik Bohra, told The National that she was slightly traumatised and did not speak for days, though she is now fine.

For Mr Bohra, discovering that his grandmother had survived was an overwhelming experience. He expressed deep emotion and disbelief when he first scrolled across images of her rescue on his phone. However, the viral rescue image only tells part of the story, as several members of the family and close acquaintances remain missing. Mr Bohra stated that his maternal uncle, other relatives on his mother's side, and his father’s friend are still unaccounted for. He believes that more than 50 people from the affected area remain missing, though the scale of the destruction and communication breakdowns hinder exact counts.

Finding Ms Bohra involved scouring patient lists and hospital records. Mr Bohra, an MBA student at Herald College Kathmandu, was in Kathmandu when he learned his grandmother's community in Kabilash was hit. He travelled to Devighat to search for her, arriving to find the area engulfed by mud, water, and debris with destroyed houses and impassable roads. Heavy machinery had to be brought in to clear paths. Mr Bohra noted that his grandmother had been stuck in the mud for roughly eight to nine hours before small movements—shaking her head—alerted rescuers.

Rescuers and relatives worked for hours to free her. Unable to reach her by ambulance, they placed Ms Bohra inside a large metal digger bucket to transport her across the mud before she was taken to Kathmandu for treatment. Her family emphasizes her strength, noting she suffered no significant injuries despite her age and time trapped. The government is covering her hospital expenses, and doctors are preparing to discharge her.

Despite the relief of her survival, the family's search continues as they await news of other missing relatives. Mr Bohra urged the international community not to view his grandmother's rescue as the conclusion of the crisis, calling for global support and assistance for Nepal.