How two truck drivers at the hydel project site in Tapovan escaped death

TAPOVAN: Even as the Chamoli flash floods claimed several lives, there were some who defied death rather miraculously. One such person is Rajendra Kainthura, a truck driver working in Tapovan, who managed to survive the deluge.

“On the fateful Sunday (February 7), I was unloading construction material from my truck. It was then that I saw river waters coming with full force towards the hydropower projects in Tapovan and Rishiganga. Before I could realise anything, my truck was hit by a wave and the truck turned sideways. Water and slush started filling inside the cabin. I broke the glass window on my side and somehow managed to get out.” He added, “Such was the force of water that if I had been a few seconds late, I would have got swept away.”

Heera Lal, another driver, had a similar brush with death. “I was close to the riverbank near my truck when I saw the flash floods approaching. I immediately alerted an engineer who was at the site. We were able to escape somehow.”

Another survivor Amit Prakash, who works as a daily wager in Tapovan, said, “I was with the team which had to blast a rock when suddenly people started blowing whistles and screaming ‘bahar bhago’ (go outside). I couldn’t understand at first but when I looked back I saw a huge wave coming for us and I left everything to run outside and saved my life.”