CHITWAN, April 4: Two persons were killed while as many sustained injuries when a landslide buried vehicles along the Narayanghat-Mugling road section on Monday.
According to the District Police, Chitwan, a huge rock rolled down a hill -- which is being leveled as part of the Narayanghat-Muglin Road Expansion Project -- and hit moving vehicles, resulting in the death of two people.
The workers were just about to being the work and were getting the heavy equipment ready on the hill when the accident occurred, the project’s chief Chandra Narayan Yadav said.
According to experts and engineers, the landslide happened as the hillside had become damp and weak due to continuous rain. They said the hill had also developed several fissures due to continuous use of heavy equipment.
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The debris of the landslide were scattered on 40-meter stretch.
One of the deceased has been identified as Resham Raj Rana, who was riding a motorcycle. His son, the pillion rider, sustained injuries. Binay Kumar Koiri, helper of a petroleum tanker that was buried under the landslide ruble also lost his life, according to Shiva Khanal, information officer of the road expansion project.
“Risk of accidents along the road has increased substantially, and I have called a meeting with the project chief and officers of three construction companies working on the project on Tuesday to discuss how to minimize this risk,” said Chitwan Chief District Officer Narayan Prasad Bhatta.
It took about three hours for two loaders and as many excavators to clear the debris. Traffic on the road resumed after 5:00 pm, said Khanal.
The snail-paced construction of the Narayanghat-Muglin road stretch has led to several accidents. As per the project agreement, the work, which began two years ago, should have completed by now. However, only 41 percent of the work has so far been done.
Khanal said the project had begun leveling the 48-meter-tall hill around a year ago.
