Dolakha toll hits 61, scores missing

DOLAKHA, MAY 13 - The number of deaths in Dolakha, the district hardest hit by Tuesday's 7.3 magnitude quake, has climbed to 61.

According to security personnel from Nepal Police and Nepal Army involved in rescue operations, 206 have sustained injuries and 103 of them have been airlifted to the Capital for further treatment.

A day after the quake, the rescue teams retrieved the body of Araniko Development Bank manager from the rubble of the collapsed building in Charikot, the district headquarters of Dolakha. More bodies were pulled out of the debris of Hotel Paradise.

On a positive note, rescue operations were carried out swiftly in a number of VDCs in the district, saving countless lives in the process  as the personnel deployed in the region for rescue operations since April 25 quake were on the ground when another tragedy struck on Tuesday.

According to local Arun Khadka, 24, of Chilankha-8, the quake has leveled Singati VDC while vehicular movement to the VDC has been halted due to landslides triggered by the quake.

Khadka, who was forced to abandon his trip to Charikot halfway through due to the quake, said that two dozers which were carrying out the construction works on the road had been buried while an excavator driver had been missing. He said a truck with a registration Ba 2 Kha 8262, heading to Singati laden with relief materials along with 35 people, had also been buried in the landslide. He said that he could hear the cries of those buried for help but had been unable to do anything on his own.  The VDCs to the north of the district were hit the hardest, with its epicenter located in the area bordering Sindhupalchok and Dolakha.

16 dead in Sindhupalchok, many 'trapped' in landslides

RISHIRAM POUDEL

SINDHUPALCHOK

Toll from Tuesday's earthquake in Sindhupalchok has reached 16, with scores of people reportedly trapped in Tatopani and Daskilo areas due to the landslides triggered by the quake.

The blocked Tatopani-Barhabise section along the Araniko Highway is yet to be cleared, halting the relief and rescue works.

Around 80 people have been trapped at Tatopani-based Mansarowar School in Sindhupalchok due to the landslides after Tuesday's earthquake.

Kami Sherpa, one of those trapped in the school, told the Post over phone that they are at high risk as boulders are continuously falling from above with the Bhote Koshi river below.

Similarly, around 200 people are still waiting to be rescued at Daskilo area after Tuesday's jolt. The security agencies said they could not rescue the stranded people as the injured should be airlifted first for treatment.

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