Inspector at Sisuwa police post Mahendra Khadka identified the dead as Chandra Bahadur´s wives Dhan Maya, 65, and Nara Maya, 60; daughter-in-law Dhani Maya, 35; granddaughters Mamata, 13, and Shanti, eight; and grandson Sajan. [break]
Chandra Bahadur, 68, escaped with minor injuries while his son Man Bahadur and eldest grandson Madan Bahadur also survived. Daughter-in-law Dhan Maya, who was also living downhill for paddy plantation, had returned home Sunday evening to fetch food grains.
Secretary of Thumki VDC Durga Raj Subedi said granddaughters Mamata and Shanti were rescued alive but died when while preparations were on to take them to the hospital.
The thatched house was swept away by the landslide that started from about 150 meters above the house at around five in the morning following the nightlong rains. An ox, a buffalo and around a dozen chicken also died as the landslide swept away a shed adjoining the house. An uninhabited house of Hasta Bahadur BK in the neighborhood was also buried under the landslide.
“The landslide was so big that a slice of the hill collapsed leaving no trace of the house and it was very difficult to recover the bodies,” inspector Khadka said. The bodies were recovered late during the day following joint efforts by the locals, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force (APF) and Nepal Army personnel.
Harka Bahadur Gurung, a local, said the daughter-in-law had just returned home bringing drinking water while the grandchildren were sleeping at the time of the landslide. “The houses of Suku Maya BK, Sun Maya BK and Bhoj Raj Ojha have also been endangered by the landslide,” Gurung added.
Assistant Chief District Officer of Kaski Ishwar Raj Regmi said the nearest kin of the deceased would receive Rs 25,000 for every death from the District Disaster Relief Fund.
Police dies while removing fallen tree
A policeman died while trying to remove a fallen tree at Bajani on the Birgunj-Pathlaiya road section Monday, according to our correspondent Upendra Lamichhane.
Constable Tanka Chapagain died after a branch, cut to remove the tree that had fallen on a high tension line, fell on him, said his colleague Padam Khadka. He breathed his last at Advance Medicare in Birgunj immediately after being taken there for treatment at 12:20 in the afternoon.
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