Three days of incessant rain had raised the river level and ended up displacing 46 workers who have been collecting sand and aggregate near the river bed for the last four months.DHANGADI, March 4: A rescue team including locals on Tuesday rescued 36 workers and brought them to safer ground after the rain-swollen Mahakali river gushed into the Areghat area Monday evening.
Three days of incessant rain had raised the river level and ended up displacing 46 workers who have been collecting sand and aggregate near the river bed for the last four months.
The rescue team is still struggling to save six other workers.
"A team including Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police personnel has been deployed for rescue work and they are doing their best to save them from the raging river," said Police Inspector American Chand. "The remaining ones will also be brought to safety," he added.
Fed by continuous rain, the river´s flow has now reached 32,000 cusecs. The river had flooded into the Nepal side after dam sluice gates on the Indian side were opened to mitigate the flow.
It is learnt that 19 of the workers are men, 11 are women and 6 children.
"Six of the workers had declined to cross over, saying the river would subside in a few days," said Chand.
Most of the workers here had come from Daiji, Beldai and Dhekhatbhuli VDCs of Kanchanpur district.
Nepal Army bringing to safety the workers stranded in Airighat after flooding in the Mahakali River on Tuesday. A total of 36 workers were rescued using a dinghy. The river was flooded after two days of continuous rains.(Dil Bahadur Chhatyal/Republica)
"We could not sleep the whole night when the river rushed inside our hut. Fear of dying kept us awake. Thanks to the rescue team, we are now saved," said one of the rescued workers.
"We have been collecting sand and aggregate here for the last few months. The flooding came as a huge surprise," said Bani Bahadur Singh of Krishnapur VDC-3, one of the workers.
Meanwhile, three locals of the same family have been crushed to death after their house at Thirpu VDC in Kalikot district collapsed due to heavy rainfall.
The deceased have been identified as Dal Bahadur Rokaya, 35, of Bershainkot village in Thirpu VDC-5, his wife Minsara Rokaya, 34, and their seven-year-old daugheter Sabita.
According to police, the incident occurred at three in the night when the family was asleep.
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