RUKUM, May 14: A wildfire that spread into the villages from Ramkanda forest of Chhatreshwari Rural Municipality in Salyan district has claimed two lives on Monday. The fire which is still blazing by the time this news was prepared destroyed 13 houses completely.
According to police, the fire which started on Thursday spread to several areas of the district and has partially damaged other infrastructures as well.
According to Salyan Police Chief DSP Birendra Bahadur Shahi, the fire has not come under control despite efforts to contain it.
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“It has been days since the fire started but we have not been able to contain it,” he said. “Two people have already died due to the fire.”
Police informed that Panti Bohora, 55, of Chhatreshawri Rural Municipality and Govardan Pun, 62, of Sarada Municipality were killed by the fire. Khagendra Bohora, 40, of Chhatreshawri Rural Municipality has been severely injured and is receiving treatment.
“The two died due to burn injuries. Another person is receiving treatment,” said DSP Shahi.
DSP Shahi added that the fire is getting difficult to control and is fast spreading into several forests. While care has been taken not to let it enter human settlements, it seems challenging to tame the wildfire, he noted.
“We are trying our best to prevent human causalities. Controlling it is not possible with the tools we have. It is spreading even more rapidly in the jungles,” he said.
Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been jointly working to contain the fire. In lack of proper fire-fighting equipment, the teams have been struggling to get the work done. DSP Shahi added that the locals themselves were found to have lit the fire. “Most often, locals themselves light fire in jungles This time also we found some people doing the same,” he said.
