At least five persons have gone out of contact after a dry landslide struck the base of Mt Annapurna South at Narchyang VDC – 1 on Monday night. 

Tak Bahadur Thajali, Sher Bahadur Thajali, Dil Bahadur Thajali, of Lek Gaun in Narchyang – 5 and Hukum Pun of ward no 6 of the same locality and Tar Bahadur Phagami of ward no 4 have gone missing. 

The landslide continuing since midnight has released a huge cloud of dust in its wake impacting the general life in Narchyang, Dana, Bhurung, Tatopani, Shik, Ghar and Dowa VDCs. The haze has made travelling difficult in the area. 

The rescue teams from Nepal Army and Nepal Police have not yet reached the incident site owing to difficulty in access, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Bishworaj Khadka. 

The five persons had headed to a jungle at the base of the Annapurna South to forage for bamboo on Monday afternoon. The attempts to make contact on their mobile phones have failed and their search by locals and security personnel, and study on the landslide rendered difficult, according to DSP Khadka. 

The security personnel deputed from Border Police Post Bhurung, Tatopani, Dana Police Station and Nepal Army personnel have not been able to proceed further from the under- construction Dhalemdi Hydro Power Project’s dam. 

Similarly, locals have not been able to come out of their houses due to the smog while schools too have been affected. 

Prabha Secondary School Principal Tej Bahadur Gurung reminded that the locality had witnessed a massive landslide 40 years ago which had buried livestock and sheepherders. The base where the landslide struck however does not contain any human settlement. 

The area is located near the source of the Dhlemdi River. The river has been blocked following the landslide last night in which now flows muddy slush, said Narchyang VDC Secretary Dirgha Prasad Gautam. 

District Soil Conservation Official Diwakar Poudel surmised that the landslide occurred on the area deformed during the massive earthquake which struck Nepal on April 25. RSS