The children saved by villagers in earthquake-hit Nepal
Kathmandu:
An entire village pitched in to save two young siblings who were sleeping inside their home when a massive earthquake hit Nepal on Saturday afternoon.
18-month-old Sameer and his five-year-old sister Samika were sleeping in the first floor of their two-storey home in Koirala village when the quake, Nepal's worst in 80 years, struck. Their home and most others were flattened.
The children were buried under the rubble. As news got around, villagers came running.
"Half of the villagers held up the roof, while the rest dug with their bare hands and pulled out the children," said Sam, their father, standing on a pile of stones that used to be his living room. His little boy was unconscious and was rushed to hospital
For two nights, the family has been sleeping out in the open. "Our beds are wet because it has rained both nights," said Sam's wife, with a smile that looked incongruous.
"What do I do, cry? At least I am alive. I should smile. Crying will not bring anything back." She says it will take about two-three lakh rupees to repair the damage, though the family makes just about Rs 4,000 a month from farming.
While villagers took in the scale of the damage on Monday, Sam and his wife were busy working. They are trying to put up a temporary shelter to protect their children for the night.
More than 3,700 people have died in the earthquake, say agency reports citing a Home Ministry official.
Thousands of people have spent the past two nights sleepless with fear because of aftershocks, and huddled under makeshift tents fashioned from plastic sheeting that is hardly any protection against heavy rain.
18-month-old Sameer and his five-year-old sister Samika were sleeping in the first floor of their two-storey home in Koirala village when the quake, Nepal's worst in 80 years, struck. Their home and most others were flattened.
The children were buried under the rubble. As news got around, villagers came running.
"Half of the villagers held up the roof, while the rest dug with their bare hands and pulled out the children," said Sam, their father, standing on a pile of stones that used to be his living room. His little boy was unconscious and was rushed to hospital
For two nights, the family has been sleeping out in the open. "Our beds are wet because it has rained both nights," said Sam's wife, with a smile that looked incongruous.
"What do I do, cry? At least I am alive. I should smile. Crying will not bring anything back." She says it will take about two-three lakh rupees to repair the damage, though the family makes just about Rs 4,000 a month from farming.
While villagers took in the scale of the damage on Monday, Sam and his wife were busy working. They are trying to put up a temporary shelter to protect their children for the night.
More than 3,700 people have died in the earthquake, say agency reports citing a Home Ministry official.
Thousands of people have spent the past two nights sleepless with fear because of aftershocks, and huddled under makeshift tents fashioned from plastic sheeting that is hardly any protection against heavy rain.
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