Rescuers use an earthmover to carry a victim of flash flooding to safety along the Trishuli River in Nepal's Nuwakot district. This moment was captured by Associated Press photographer Niranjan Shrestha. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Shrestha is based in Kathmandu and has worked with the AP since 2011. He said it was the first time that day he encountered a survivor being rescued alive. "After witnessing the immense destruction and the suffering all around me, seeing someone pulled from the disaster alive felt like a powerful reminder of hope," he said.
The photographer was photographing survivors at a hospital when he heard about a rescue operation in Devighat, one of the hardest-hit areas. He ran over immediately, knowing the importance of documenting the rescue. He did not know the survivor was a very elderly woman. When she arrived on the earthmover, there was a smile on her face. "That smile, after everything she had endured, gave everyone around her a sense of hope," Shrestha recounted.
This was the first live rescue witnessed in the first hours after the terrifying flash flood. With roads and bridges washed away, it was also one of the first search and rescue efforts. Seeing an elderly woman brought out alive gave everyone a powerful sense of hope that more missing people could still be found.
Shrestha noted his luck with timing. "I reached there just moments before she was rescued. It was already getting dark. I used a telephoto lens, but I managed to capture the moment sharply and steadily," he added.
This photograph has become a symbol of hope during the devastating floods in Nepal.