The house of Om Prasad Subedi collapsed following incessant rainfall over the last four days. [break]
Though Subedi survived, his wife and three children did not. Subedi´s 27-year-old wife Sarswoti, five-year-old daughter Aakriti, two-year-old Asmita and a 20-day-old newborn boy were buried to death. Subedi was rescued alive from under the debris by the villagers on Tuesday morning.
Subedi´s three goats and a calf were also killed when the house collapsed. According to Sanjay Bhattarai, one of the villagers involved in the rescue work, the house, which was made up of mud and stone, gave way as its foundation was weakened by the heavy and continuous rainfall.
Subedi, his wife and all three children had slept on the second floor of the two-storey house. While his wife and children slept on the bed, Subedi slept on the floor.
“In the midnight, the house creaked for a while and collapsed suddenly,” recalled Subedi. “I went to open the door. But, I was trapped. My body was buried under the debris below my chest. I cried for help. But nobody heard me as everybody was asleep. Only after two hours, someone heard my voice and woke up every one in the neighborhood.”
Subedi says his wife and children did not die immediately after being trapped under the collapsed house. “They were crying for help,” said Subedi. “They died of suffocation. I could not save them.” Sarswoti wanted to visit her maternal home on Monday to celebrate the Teej festival. But, Subedi did not allow her to go as she had given birth to a new baby just two weeks ago. “Had she gone, she would have survived,” he says.
As Chandibhanjyang VDC is far away from the district headquarters of Syangja, the District Police Office of Palpa had sent a police team to rescue the injured Subedi. But, the police could not reach there as their way was blocked by a heavy landslide in Deurali of Palpa district.
The District Administration Office of Syangja has provided Rs 40,000 for the final rite of each of the four victims, Rs 10,000 for rebuilding the house and Rs 5,000 for food to Subedi, according to Chief District Officer of Syangja Nabaraj Baral.
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