Sunday, July 16, 2006

17 killed, 13 missing in Kaski landslide

17 people have been killed and 13 others are missing in a landslide last night at Ulleri village-based Nepane tole of Dangsingh VDC in Kaski district.
Rescuers recovered the bodies of 17 villagers; five men, five women and seven children from debris at the site, while a search for those missing continued till late Saturday.
Those killed have been identified as Ojan Pun, Mina Pun and Gom Bahadur Pun of the same family. Others killed are Dansuba Pun, Shuv Ram Pun, Dil Maya Pun, Susan Pun, Suman Pun, Maya Pun, Rabina Pun, Jasbir Pun, Dilmati BK, Sita BK, Samkaji BK, Santa Devi BK and Bimal BK.
Keshav Pun, Kalpana Pun, Aruna Pun, Prasanna Pun, Hom Bahadur Pun, Dhan Maya Pun, Anita Pun, Sonia Pun, Jung Pun, Kamala Pun, Sabina Pun, Roman Singh Pun are missing.
13 houses were damaged while seven were totally swept by the landslide after incessant downpour. According to locals, the houses of Hom Bahadur Pun, Ojan Pun, Rupa Pun, Chimchime BK, Gaman Singh Pun, Jas Bahadur BK and Yugmaya Pun were swept away. The house of Karna Bahadur Pun was destroyed in the incident.
The village, mostly inhibited by people of Dalit and Magar community, was swept away in the landslide that started some one-and-half kilometers above the area. The village can be reached after a four-hour walk from Nayapul along the Pokhara-Baglung highway.
Locals, political party activists, security agencies and Maoist cadres were involved in the rescue operation since Saturday morning.
The people displaced by the landslide are being housed in the nearby Bhagawati Lower Secondary School. According to Man Bahadur Thapa, secretary of Dangsingh VDC, compensation will be sought for the victims’ families.

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