Four demolition workers were killed and five injured when a four-storey building they had been tearing down collapsed.
The third floor of the building, located at Lagan-12 of Kathmandu near Shwetbhairav temple, caved in on Saturday when the workers had gathered to have food on the second floor.
DSP Umesh Joshi, chief of Metropolitan Police Circle, Janasewa said that the collapse is the result of over accumulation of debris from the fourth floor.
“The demolition workers had been working since June 14 after the house was emptied for new construction”, said Rukmini Shrestha, 51, a local, who witnessed the tragic incident. “I was washing clothes, when I heard cries for help after a huge sound of something collapsing. Seconds later, I saw people buried under a pile of debris,” she recalled. “This is the worst tragedy I have ever seen in my life. The workers had no time to escape,” she added.
Soon a joint team of Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force arrived at the site and pulled out the trapped workers. All of them were unconscious at the time, but four were pronounced dead at the hospital later.
The deceased have been identified as Pot Bahadur Pandey, 45, of Sundaradevi-9 in Nuwakot, Ganesh BK, 41, of Taruka-1 in Nuwakot, Bishnu Bhandari, 35, of Baireni-8 in Dhadhing and Bhupal Thapa Magar, 30, of Dharapani-8 in Khotang. The injured include Man Bahadur Tamang of Nuwakot, Mangal Bahadur Bhujel of Morang, Rajan Tamang of Dhading, Jeevan Magar of Kotang and Masina BK of Nuwakot District.
