Bradford woman in Nepal tells of flooding ordeal

A woman from Bradford who narrowly avoided deadly flash flooding in Nepal has said she is praying for those affected.

Shashi Sharma, 61, was taking part in the sacred Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, a 10-day trek from India to Tibet, which also travels through the affected area in Nepal.

More than 570 people have been killed in the disaster which struck on Wednesday, according to Nepalese police, with almost 1,500 injured.

Sharma said: "The whole group is very, very sad at the moment, and we are praying for the people - those who have lost their life, and we're praying for the families, those who are looking for their loved ones."

Sharma told BBC Radio Leeds her 43-strong group, including six from the UK, passed through Rasuwagadhi, at the border between Nepal and Tibet, on Tuesday.

The following day the border crossing was devastated by the natural disaster.

"We're still thinking about the lady who served us food in this beautiful place," she said.

"We had a lovely walk there. There was a small Buddhist temple, we went there."

Sharma said: "I still remember everyone there.

"The whole journey is like it happened yesterday. And we were all in our groups sharing our videos.

"It is really heartbreaking."

The group finished their journey safely and are now in China waiting to go back home.

"We all feel blessed that we are still here," said Sharma.

"It could have been us, but we are really, really praying for the people who have lost their life. I have no words to express."

However, their original planned route back has been disrupted and they are yet to find out how they will get home.

Their journey is expected to begin on Saturday.

"Whole villages and all the bridges, everything, the immigration office, everything is now gone," said Sharma.

In its latest update, Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the number of people missing in Nepal had risen to 1,924, with 15,000 security personnel deployed in search and rescue operations.

The number of missing includes 517 foreign nationals, 33 of them British.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.