18-year-old Abhik Thapa, a Nepalese student at a private university here, had come to India as one of the lucky survivors of the killer April earthquake.
He is now heading back to Kathmandu after having lived through the Chennai rains tragedy.
A student of genetics at the SRM University – which bore the heavy brunt of the rains during the first few days – Thapa was among the several students left stranded in their hostels, after torrential rains pounded the city last week.
Thapa and his college mates were eventually rescued by a coordinated team of defence personnel and finally brought to the Tambaram Air Base, nearly 30 km from here, before being flown to Delhi.
My home is in Kathmandu and our family survived that massive calamity, with a little damage to our house. But, yes the disaster and the experiences thereof, of seeing Nepal get back on its feet, helped me cope with the tragedy.Abhik Thapa, Nepal quake and Chennai rains survivor
According to plans, several of the rescued people – after being assembled at the Tambaram Base – are being taken in batches, by Mi-14 choppers, to the Arakkonam Naval Base, 70 km west of Chennai. From there they will be transported to different cities, mostly in C-17s.
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