The bodies of 10 people who died in a landslide that struck Uwa Kotalbara in Thawang Rural Municipality-5, Rolpa, on Wednesday night have been recovered.
Police said five bodies were found at the incident site, while five others were recovered downstream in Pyuthan after being swept away by floodwaters. The victims range in age from a five-year-old child to an 85-year-old elderly person.
A massive landslide carrying a large volume of mud buried 11 houses in the village late Wednesday night. Three people remain missing, and search operations are continuing.
Two seriously injured survivors are undergoing treatment in Butwal. Himal Pun Magar, 22, and Sanjay Gharti Magar, 25, escaped the landslide and later called police through the emergency number 100 to report the incident.
The bodies recovered at the scene were identified as 18-year-old Shanti Pun Magar, 60-year-old Kamal Bahadur Pun Magar, 80-year-old Manrakhi Pun Magar, 75-year-old Dal Bahadur Pun Magar, and 85-year-old Hastakala Roka Magar.
Police also recovered five more bodies from different locations along the Lungri Khola in Rolpa and the Madi River in Pyuthan, according to Police Inspector Krishna Shrestha, information officer at the District Police Office.
Those recovered in Pyuthan have been identified as 38-year-old Jun Kumari Pun Magar (Bishnu Pun), 5-year-old Ashok Pun Magar, 80-year-old Bal Bahadur Pun Magar, 66-year-old Mani Pun Magar, and 34-year-old Mahendra Gharti.
After receiving initial treatment at the Primary Health Center in Sulichowr, the two injured men were referred to Provincial Hospital Butwal for further treatment. “The landslide buried nine houses, a mobile shop, two sheds, and a church,” Inspector Shrestha said.
