Georgia couple who survived Nepal floods recall life-saving chance decision

A Georgia couple who narrowly escaped Nepal’s deadly August flooding recalled the precise moment that a last-minute decision took them out of the path of devastation.Mita and Hemant Parikh, of Suwanee, were in the area after planning for 15 years to make a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in the Himalayas in Tibet, a sacred site in Hinduism.“Everybody has a bucket list, but this bucket list, you don’t choose it,” Mita told CBS Atlanta.“God chooses for you.”They were joined by 47 travelers including families from Australia, other parts of the US and elsewhere, with seven guides leading the group.On impulse, the couple decided to take a side trip to view Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak, which turned out to be a life-saving excursion.“Usually we argue, or tickets are expensive — no, let’s not go,” Mita recalled to the outlet.

“But I don’t know why we both agreed.”After veering off the planned travel route to catch a glimpse of the legendary mountain, they were going to return to the group with another guide who helped them reach the Everest viewing point, only to find their hotel had been washed away by the floods.Several families from the group, and all of the guides, are among the more than 6,000 people reported missing — including 85 Americans, according to AP.“As soon as I close my eyes, I see Kailash, and I see the people,” Mita told CBS Atlanta.

“I don’t know what happened.”“I ask myself why?” Hemant said, dumbfounded that he and his wife might be the only two from the group to make it out alive.“And I don’t have an answer.” Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

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Never miss a story.“That’s what keeps me awake,” Mita added.

“Why? Why God chose us to live.So there has to be some purpose, right?”The flooding ravaged Nepal...