20140118 Nepal Two killed‚ 11 hurt in jungle fire in Humla
Nepal Jan 18 2014 “Forest”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured more than 10
Two killed‚ 11 hurt in jungle fire in Humla
Updated: 2014-01-18-22:22
SURKHET: A fire that broke out in a jungle nearby Puma VDC in Humla killed two persons and left 11 people injured yesterday night.
Police have identified the deceased as five-year-old Dharma Raj Budha and Sarjuma Budhathoki, 52, of Barai VDC.
A group of 20 persons, including the deceased and injured, were on their way to their relatives’ house in Kutigaun when the incident occurred, informed Humla District Police Office.
According to DSP Mekh Bahadur Khatri, a police team from Area Police Office in Sarkegadh had immediately reached the incident site after the fire.
The condition of the burn victims is said to be critical. They are being kept in Puma, which is a two-day walk from the district headquarters Simikot, where there are no health facilities.
Khatri said they have requested the authorities in Kathmandu to airlift the injured to well-equipped hospitals as there is no reliable means of road transportation.
Police surmised that victims could not escape the fire as they were caught in a sloppy hill and that the pinewood forest could have cause the fire to spread quickly.
The blaze that started from a place close to local Nyasikhola River had been spreading up to the hill areas for the past one week. The rain finally extinguished the fire yesterday evening. Police suspect that cigarette butts thrown by cowherds might have caused the fire.
Websource：The Himalayan times
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