PHOTO ESSAY: Two girls survived Nepal’s 2015 earthquake. Each lost a leg but found a friendship.
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar play a game on a cell phone as they share a bed at the trauma center of Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake that killed thousands changed the lives of many in the Himalayan nation. But it was the beginning of a friendship for two girls who each lost a leg in the tremor.
Nirmala Pariyar and Khendo Tamang were 7 and 8 years old when they met at the hospital in Kathmandu after they were brought there for treatment. Both were injured during the April 25, 2015, earthquake, which damaged more than 1 million houses and buildings in Nepal.
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar try out their prosthetic legs for the first time at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar try out their prosthetic legs for the first time at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar share a light moment at the trauma center of Bir Hospital during their treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar share a light moment at the trauma center of Bir Hospital during their treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, right, is dropped off at her home while Nirmala Pariyar, center, waits in the car to be taken to her home after both spent six months at the trauma center of Bir Hospital for treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, right, is dropped off at her home while Nirmala Pariyar, center, waits in the car to be taken to her home after both spent six months at the trauma center of Bir Hospital for treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar waits for a doctor at a rehabilitation center to get the height of her prosthetic leg altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Dec. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar waits for a doctor at a rehabilitation center to get the height of her prosthetic leg altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Dec. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, writes a message on Nirmala Pariyar’s shirt as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, writes a message on Nirmala Pariyar’s shirt as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar wait at their school for a bus to arrive, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar wait at their school for a bus to arrive, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar, left, watches her friend Khendo Tamang, right, leave as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar, left, watches her friend Khendo Tamang, right, leave as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar, left, helps her mother at a workshop for handmade bags where her parents work, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar, left, helps her mother at a workshop for handmade bags where her parents work, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar’s younger sister points to Nirmala’s picture on a certificate hanging on the wall of their home in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Nirmala Pariyar’s younger sister points to Nirmala’s picture on a certificate hanging on the wall of their home in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Kendo Tamang looks at a framed photo of her late grandmother, who died in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, at a relative’s rented apartment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Kendo Tamang looks at a framed photo of her late grandmother, who died in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, at a relative’s rented apartment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, visit a rehabilitation center to to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, visit a rehabilitation center to to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang stands on a platform as she gets the height of her prosthetic leg altered at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang stands on a platform as she gets the height of her prosthetic leg altered at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, register at a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, register at a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.
