Indian security personnel join rescue operation in Ilam

KATHMANDU: Personnel from India’s Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) assisted Nepali security forces in the search and rescue operation at Manebhanjyang in Ilam, where a landslide triggered by continuous rainfall killed five members of a single family.

According to the Armed Police Force (APF) Nepal, the house of Raju Chhetri at Manebhanjyang in Suryodaya Municipalit-1 was buried by a landslide at around 5 am on Saturday.

The joint rescue operation involved personnel from the APF’s Border Outpost (BOP) Manebhanjyang and the Indian SSB’s 26th Battalion D Company, led by Inspector Mohammad Sarfaraz, according to APF Joint Spokesperson DSP Shailendra Thapa. “The two forces worked together to recover the bodies and clear the debris in the village which lies near the border with India,” Thapa added.

At least 37 people have died and 10 others have been injured in various parts of Ilam district due to landslides caused by heavy rainfall since Thursday. One person is still missing.