KHOTANG: Thirteen persons have gone missing in the debris of a landslide that struck Jaleshwori VDC of Khotang district around Tuesday midnight. Efforts to rescue them were on till late this evening but no body has been found and police believe chances of finding anyone alive were thin. Twelve persons belonging to the families of Ranadhwoj Karki and Purna Bahadur Karki and one of their guests went missing when the landslide struck around 12:30 am in Simple, Jaleshori VDC. The missing persons include Ranadhwoj Karki, 66, his wife Mithumaya, 58, sons Amar Bahadur, 28, Ramesh, 14, daughters Tirthamaya, 16, Rammaya Ghimire, 40, Gmimire’s 18-month-old daughter Kumari and one of their guests. Purna Bahadur Karki, 34, his pregnant wife Shova, 26, and their son Hari Bahadur, 9, were also missing. There were only three houses in the area and the landslide occurred some 1,000 metres above them. The landslide also buried the house of Lab Bahadur Rai. Luckily, his family was not in. According to Inspector Milan Bhattarai of Khotang district police office, 72 security personnel, including 15 from Necha area police office in the neighbouring Solukhumbu district, 11 from Khotang district police office, 15 from Aainselukharka area police office and 31 from Nepal Army’s Indradhwoj battalion security base camp in Aainselukharka, were engaged in the rescue operation. Bhattarai said they were yet to estimate the total loss.