Hetauda, August 20
It was almost dusk last Tuesday. Four girls were returning home after school from Nirmal Secondary School in Bastipur. The Basudev Khahare stream in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-19, which lies between their school and homes, was familiar to them. However, the stream had swollen unusually that evening.
A sudden flash flood swept all four girls away in different directions as they attempted to cross the stream. Two girls died, one remains missing, and one managed to survive.
According to 13-year-old Seema Blon of Dadagaun, Hetauda-19, who survived the incident, the four girls were crossing the stream while holding hands. Eight-year-old Roshani Syangtan was the first to be swept away, followed by 11-year-old Sumitra Blon and then Seema and the other girl.
After the current dragged Seema downstream, her hand caught a bush on the bank, allowing her to pull herself out of the water. She sustained minor injuries and was taken to Hetauda Hospital for treatment.
Residents had already begun searching for the other girls when Seema emerged from the stream. Police teams from the Area Police Office, Nawalpur, and the District Police Office, Makwanpur, were mobilised after receiving information about the incident. A team of 20 police personnel led by SP Shyam Bahadur Khatri was deployed for the search.
Another team of 11 police personnel led by Inspector Bijayraj Timalsina from the Bagmati Province Disaster Management Battalion and a 17-member Armed Police Force team led by DSP Nibankumar Khadka from APF No. 14 Battalion also joined the search. The Nepal Army and residents were also involved.
During the search, eight-year-old Roshani, daughter of Deep Syangtan of Bastipur, Hetauda-19, was found trapped in the roots of a tree about 600 meters downstream from the incident site. She was pronounced dead by doctors after being taken to hospital.
The bodies of 11-year-old Sumitra, daughter of Tikaram Blon, and 12-year-old Binita, daughter of Rajkumar Blon, could not be found overnight. Darkness, rising water levels and stones and debris carried by the stream made the search difficult.
Nepal Police and Armed Police Force teams resumed the search downstream early Wednesday morning. Binita was found dead about four kilometres downstream from the point where she was swept away. Sumitra remains missing.
DSP Madhav Prasad Kafle, spokesperson for the District Police Office, Makwanpur, said the search for Sumitra was continuing. According to Narnath Subedi, ward chairperson of Hetauda-19, security personnel and residents are searching for her in the lower reaches of the Basudev stream.
Of the four girls returning home from school, two have died, one remains missing, and one survived. The Basudev flash flood has taken daughters from two families and left another family waiting in hope of finding their daughter.
The incident is not the first water-related fatality recorded in Makwanpur in the current fiscal year. On the second day of the fiscal year, around 14-year-old Yukesh Rai drowned in a water-filled pit near the Karra River in Rohini Colony, Hetauda-6.
About two weeks later, a sudden flash flood in Chiruwa Khola in Naya Damaar, Bakaiya Rural Municipality-4, swept away two women. Forty-one-year-old Tara Blon and 50-year-old Sunmaya Waiba were caught in the flood while crossing the stream. Local residents rescued both women in an injured condition. Tara, who was brought to a hospital in Hetauda after receiving first aid, died during treatment on Shrawan 19. Sunmaya recovered and returned home.
The incidents at Karra, Chiruwa Khola and Basudev Khahare were different in nature. The death at Karra occurred when a person drowned while swimming, while the incidents at Chiruwa and Basudev involved people being swept away by sudden flash floods while crossing streams. These incidents highlight the risks posed by rivers, streams, gullies and water-filled pits in the district during the monsoon.
According to the District Police Office, Makwanpur, four people have died from drowning or being swept away by water in the current fiscal year. In fiscal year 2082/83 BS, Makwanpur recorded six such incidents, resulting in four deaths, one injury and one person reported missing. One of those who died was a girl.
