Neighbours gather around the ruins of Durga Bahadur Malla's house at Rajwara, Pyuthan on Tuesday. Photo: Bijaya Singh BharatiAt least 11 persons were killed by landslides in different parts of western Nepal in the last 24 hours.
Eight members of two families lost their lives in landslides in Pyuthan on Monday night, and three road construction workers were buried to death by a landslide in Gorkha on Tuesday morning.
Forty-year-old Durga Bahadur Malla perished alongside his 37-year-old wife Sita and daughters Sushila (10), Sirjana (7) and Lekha (2) when a landslide swept away their house in Rajwara village of Pyuthan, while they were sleeping. Malla's three other children survived because they were spending the night outside their house.
In Punja village of Pyuthan, 65-year-old Hum Bahadur Sunar, his 60-year-old wife Phati Devi and six-year-old granddaughter Sima also died due to a landslide.
In Kerauja village of Gorkha, 15-year-old Sandip Ghale, 30-year-old Chin Maya Gurung and 45-year-old Kanchhi Maya Tamang were buried to death when a mountain came crashing down on them while they were at work digging an earthen road. Three other construction workers who were buried were rescued alive.
The deaths come just a day after the State Affairs Committee of Parliament instructed the government to be on the alert and to reduce damage caused by monsoon-induced disasters. Reports of floods and landslides have poured in from various districts, as the monsoon has begun to unleash its full force all over the country.