Surkhet, May 29, 2007

Sixteen Yarsagumba collectors died after they were buried under snowstorm in Dolpa’s Tangtangelake. More than 1,000 villagers from three wards of Dolpa’s Sarmi VDC, who reached Dolpa’s northern Himali region Tangtangelake three weeks ago for collecting precious Yarsagumba herbs, are still missing. Many had gone missing after the snowstorm on Saturday night when everyone was asleep, said mid-western regional police office Surkhet quoting one Nanku Budha from Sarmi VDC-9 as saying. Budha was also collecting Yarsagumba. According to the police, 16 dead bodies have been recovered so far. As the incident site was at a four days walking distance from the district headquarters, the team, including Budha, was able to inform the area police office at Kai village about the incident today only, police said. It takes two days to reach the area police office from Tangtangelake. Details have not arrived as contact with other villagers ‘was not smooth’, police said. Deputy Superintendent of Police at the regional police office Surkhet Naresh Man Shrestha said a police team has left for the incident site this morning soon after news of the incident was received. Nepal Army’s mid-western divisional headquarters said a helicopter has left for the incident site for rescue of the missing people, but it had been grounded in the district headquarters.

Nine killed as bombs go off in Palpa house

Gothadi (Palpa), May 29, 2007

Nine persons, including seven of a family and an infant, were killed when three bombs went off in a house in Gothadi VDC in Palpa this morning.

The three-story building of Tara Bahadur Thada was also destroyed in the explosions at Bhutuke village, around 35 km southeast of the district headquarters, Tansen. Dambar Bahadur Thada, 27, Krishna Bahadur Thada, 30, Dil Kumari Thada, 20, Jiban Thada, 7, Yam Bahadur Thada, 55, Om Bahadur Thada, 16, Dul Bahadur Thada, 35, Man Bahadur Kanauje, 28, and a one-and-a-halfmonth-old baby died in the blasts, DSP Bhim Prasad Dhakal at the Palpa district police office (DPO) said. However, Tara Bahadur was not in the house when the incident occurred.

Maoists had left many bombs in buckets in the village during the insurgency and locals were using them to break rocks while constructing the Gothadi-Khaireni road, locals said. “Locals took three buckets full of bombs in Tara Bahadur’s house this morning. Three went off simultaneously while they were taking them out of a bucket,” said an eyewitness Arjun Regmi.

A team of locals and police dug out the bodies that had been scattered in pieces under the debris. “The incident occurred due to sheer negligence,” Dhakal said. “Locals safely took out the explosives yesterday and they thought they would do the same today as well,” Tara Bahadur said.