Bodies of 18 victims found, 21 still missing

Kavre, August 15

Eighteen bodies from yesterday’s landslide have been found, while 21 are still missing.

The landslide had struck more than three dozen houses in Lidi of Jugal Rural Municipality, Sindhupalchowk.

According to DSP Madhav Prasad Kafle, all of the recovered bodies have been identified.

“The bodies of 10 children, four women and four men have been found so far. Eleven bodies were found yesterday and seven more bodies were found today,” said the DSP.

The deceased are Man Bahadur Dong, 30, Laxmi Dong, 11, Tikamaya Dong, 36, Tshering Dong, 14, Jite Jhankri, 80, Milan Dong, 8, Sonu Dong, 5, Jaya Bahadur Dong, 70, Dawa Lhamu Dong, 30, Priti Dong, 5, Dhanamaya Dong, 34, Maila Parang Dong, 16, Mekamaya Dong, 37, Chyama Dong, 19, and Bimala Dong, 7.

The bodies of four-month-old Rimesh Dong, five-month-old- Kanchhi Dong, and sevenmonth-old Kabir Dong were found. They were cremated in a mass funeral today itself.

Five persons seriously injured in the landslide are undergoing treatment at District Hospital, Chautara and one person is being treated at Civil Hospital in Kathmandu.

A 55-member team of Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, along with locals, is searching for the missing. “The continuous rainfall has created problems in the search,” said DSP Kafle.

Thirty-nine persons had gone missing when a landslide swept away 37 homes in Lidi at about 7:00am yesterday.

Thirty-six of the 172 households in the landslide-hit area were completely destroyed.

The bodies of 16 people were recovered from the landslide debris, while 23 people are still missing.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 16, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.