5 buried alive in sandslide

Sabin Chandra Acharya

KATHMANDU: Five wage-earners, including a woman, were buried alive and three injured when an illegally operated sand mine they were digging in Bhaktapur caved in today.

SP Pushpa Chandra Ranjit, in-charge of Metropolitan Police Range in Bhaktapur, said the sand mine was being operated illegally by contractors Jeevan Kumar Malla and Saroj Thapa near Nepal Engineering College at Saraswoti Khel of Duwakot VDC.

The deceased have been identified as Krishna Prasad Phuyal (34), Rohit Kumar Ghimire a.k.a. Sunkhari Ghimire (29) of Dolkha, Dawa Sherpa (45) and Phurba Tamang (28) of Ramechhap and Chanchali Maya Thing (30) of Kavre. Their bodies have been sent to TU Teaching Hospital at Maharajguj for post-mortem. The police have contacted the contractors and investigation is underway.

SP said the mishap could have resulted due to the negligence on part of the person who got them to dig sand. The injured -- Ashmita Lama (26) of Bhaktapur and Ram Bahadur Bantawa (44) and Devi Maya Lama (26) of Kavre -- were undergoing treatment in district hospital. They are said to be out of danger. More than 300 personnel from the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, along with the locals, carried out the rescue operation that lasted till afternoon.

Survivors said nine persons were working when the sand mine collapsed. Inspector Prakash Rana Bhat of Metropolitan Police Circle, Thimi, said the victims' kin and representatives of the contractors were holding talks to work out compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured. Sudeep Timalsina, who is close to the mine operators, said they would provide adequate compensation to the victims' kin.