Five Nepalis missing in Uttarakhand landslide

Five Nepali workers from Madhuwan Municipality in Bardiya district have gone missing in India. Three are from Ward 6 of Madhuwan and one from Ward 8.

Family members said they went to work on road construction but lost contact with them since Wednesday. Prakash Malla, a consular official at the Nepali Embassy in Delhi, confirmed that five Nepali workers from Bardiya are missing.

It is feared they may have been buried by a landslide near Madhera Khatola village, about 1 km from Bakud village in Uttarakhand state.

Uddhav Khadka from Madhuwan-6 said his 39-year-old nephew Narendra Khadka, Narendra’s 30-year-old wife Saraswati, and their 2-year-old son Roman have been missing. Narendra had told family on Tuesday morning that a landslide happened after breakfast, and since then, no one has heard from them.

After learning about the missing boy, Narendra’s father, Chunamani, went to Uttarakhand with a relative early Thursday morning.

Also missing since Tuesday is Amrita, wife of 45-year-old Ramu Pariyar from Madhuwan-8. Amrita’s daughter-in-law, Bimala, said they have not been able to contact her.

Local worker helper Chitra Bahadur Paudel, who was nearby at the time, said he survived because he went to use the restroom during the incident.

Paudel said two others, Lakshmi Pariyar from Madhuwan-8 and Bhupendra Khatri from Ward 7, were injured and are being treated at Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani.

He added that he has taken 73 workers from Bardiya to Uttarakhand for work in three groups and has contact with all except these five.

The Nepali Embassy in Delhi also received reports that three Nepalis aged 21, 19, and 23 were injured in the incident. The consular officer said the injured are receiving treatment at a local hospital.