KATHMANDU, Sept 9: At around 7 am every morning, Armed Police Force (APF) personnel on the Nepali side of the Rasuwagadhi border point would take up their posts, an hour before the gate on the Chinese side opened.
On August 26, everything appeared routine. Inspector Ambir Khatri of the Border Security Office (BOP) in Timure had deployed a 10-member team to guard the border. Seven personnel were stationed in the customs area and three at other posts.
But within less than two hours, the familiar border landscape was transformed into a scene of devastation.
At around 8:45 am, a massive flood surged down from upstream, sweeping through both sides of the Nepal-China border. Almost all the security personnel on duty disappeared in the torrent. Assistant Head Constable Roshan Budhathoki, who was stationed about 100 meters above the bridge later washed away by the flood, was the only one to survive from the immediate area.
Assistant Inspector Ram Bahadur Thapa, who was deployed at the BOP, said there had been no warning of the disaster. Structures were destroyed within moments, he said, with the BOP being the only major structure left standing.
With Inspector Khatri and other personnel missing, only the BOP and 15 people remained in the area. Amid the chaos, Thapa helped move the remaining personnel and residents to safer locations.
Four other APF personnel deployed to protect a hydropower project in Mailung were also swept away while trying to warn people about the flood surging down from upstream.
Yet, even after witnessing the devastation and losing colleagues, Thapa did not abandon his duty. He composed himself, continued securing the border and joined the search and rescue operation in the largely deserted Timure area.
Of the 13 APF personnel reported missing in the Bhotekoshi flood, the body of Constable Sajan Kunwar has been recovered. The whereabouts of the others remain unknown.
Security personnel involved in rescue efforts during Thame floo...
Those still missing include Inspector Ambir Khatri, Sub-Inspector Prakash Bahadur Neupane, Senior Head Constables Raj Kumar Thapa and Mohan Nath Yogi, and Assistant Head Constables Bishnu Bahadur Rijal and Kam Bahadur Gurung.
Similarly, Assistant Head Constables Yubaraj Bhandari, Santosh Pudasaini, Binita Bohara, Krishnakumar Karki and Ashish Paudel, along with Constable An Bahadur Kumal, remain missing.
Despite losing its own personnel and seeing almost all structures in Timure swept away, the APF has returned to the area, raised the national flag and resumed border security duties.
Following the flood, around 4,200 APF personnel have been mobilized in Dhading, Nuwakot and Rasuwa. Of them, 774 specially trained personnel have been deployed to search collapsed structures and rescue people trapped inside tunnels at various hydropower projects in Rasuwa.
According to APF spokesperson Deputy Inspector General Netra Bahadur Karki, additional teams, including medical personnel and sniffer dogs, have been mobilized to search for survivors and recover bodies.
Karki said the APF has focused on relief, search and rescue operations and protecting civilian lives despite the human losses suffered by the organization itself.
Swept away while warning others, but duty remains
The APF personnel deployed in Timure on August 26 were not the only security personnel who had little chance to escape the sudden flood. Many others in the area were caught in the torrent while trying to warn people and protect them.
Of the 28 Nepal Police personnel reported missing, three have been confirmed dead.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Sam Bahadur Thapa was swept away while going around Timure warning people about the approaching flood. Similarly, Assistant Inspector Ram Kaji Poudel, stationed at Bhetrawati Police Post, and Sub-Inspector Madan Raj Syangbo of the temporary police post in Mailung were swept away while trying to alert hydropower workers.
Their colleagues, however, have continued working despite the loss.
Nepal Police personnel are currently collecting bodies recovered from different locations, maintaining records, facilitating identification by relatives, collecting samples for DNA testing and managing transportation, among other responsibilities.
A separate team, including specially trained sniffer dogs, has also been deployed for search and rescue operations. A total of 4,771 Nepal Police personnel are currently deployed in the flood-affected areas.
As they are also responsible for maintaining law and order, police have prioritized preventing criminals from exploiting the disaster, tracking the spread of misleading information and addressing hate speech and abusive content on social media.
According to Nepal Police Central Spokesperson Abinarayan Kafle, disaster management teams have been concentrated in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.
“We are grieving the loss of our own security personnel, but we have not compromised on our duty,” he said.
Army loses 45 personnel but continues rescue from tunnels to the skies
The Bhotekoshi flood inflicted losses on all three security agencies, with the Nepali Army suffering the highest number of casualties.
Forty-five Army personnel, including officers and soldiers stationed at bases between Syabrubesi and Mailung, remain missing. The search for them is ongoing.
Army barracks deployed to protect hydropower projects and the national park were swept away, along with some of the personnel stationed there. Yet the Army has continued efforts to rescue civilians trapped at hydropower projects in the same areas where its own personnel were lost.
Specialized Army forces have been deployed to search for and rescue people trapped inside tunnels at hydropower projects in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. The teams have already succeeded in rescuing three people alive, while the search for others continues.
The Army has been conducting search and rescue operations by both air and land while also transporting relief supplies to affected areas.
According to military spokesperson Brigadier General Raja Ram Basnet, personnel from the Disaster Rescue Battalion have been deployed for tunnel rescues, while a total of 9,300 Army personnel have been mobilized for search, rescue and relief operations.
Basnet said the Army is coordinating with international rescue teams and deploying its own personnel in an effort to save as many lives as possible.
The Bhotekoshi flood has caused significant human and material losses to all three security agencies. But even as they mourn their own, security personnel have continued to search for survivors, recover bodies, deliver relief and protect communities in the disaster zone.
More than 20,000 security personnel are currently deployed in the flood-affected areas.
