Feature: Unknown number of people missing along Nepal's landslide-hit Araniko highway

Ten days after a massive earthquake and ensuing landslide, blocked roads are finally being cleared in Barhabise-Tatopani road-section of Sindhupalchowk district in Nepal.

The Chinese Armed Police started the road-clearance operation from their border side this week and rescued numerous locals. Along with the clearance, dozens of dead bodies have been recovered from the road-section from Chaku village development committee (VDC)to Kodari, the last district that borders with China.

Kumar Shrestha, Senior-Secretary of the Nepal-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCCI) Sindhupalchowk-Chapter told Xinhua, "We cremated 9 bodies in our Chaku VDC up until now. We are sure that more bodies will be found as many people are still missing from this area."

There is still no official data on how many people are missing in the landslides as roads have been completely obstructed. Every minute, there is a terror of a another landslide as the mountain chains straddle both sides of the Araniko highway.

Owing to heavy risk, no vehicles have entered the area since the day of the landslide on the second day of the quake. On the way to Tatopani by motorbike and then on foot, half a dozen dead bodies could be observed lying scattered in the roads.

Similarly, locals of Kodari, the bordering village, said that they have already recovered and cremated some 10 bodies.

"We recovered many survivors from the landslide but could not save them due to a lack of professional rescue teams and medical assistance," Durga Shrestha of Gaati VDC, 50, told Xinhua.

No rescue teams had reached the area for a week despite knowing about the situation of this highway. The locals have been terrorized by both aftershocks and the landslide.

Some locals have vented ire against the state as the displaced villages and families have not received any sort of support yet.

"We cannot say exactly how many people have died or are missing immediately. Many might have gone towards safe locations through mountains, avoiding the main road, "Inspector of Armed Police Force (APF) Tam Jung Basnet told Xinhua.

Only on Saturday, around eight local youths had returned to Barhabise from Tatopani through the difficult and steep mountains. They said that they almost lost their lives on their way back without any food and water.

Most of the people are based in Tatopani and Khaasa, along the Chinese border for trading purpose.

Inspector Basnet added, "Thirty vehicles were buried under the landslide at Liping village of Tatopani and more than 20 dead bodies have been recovered from the site."

More than 5,000 people have been displaced in an area of around 26 kilometers from Barhabise to Kodari. The displaced people from Kodari area have been stranded in Narayanthan village in need of immediate relief.

According to local army officers, a lack of helicopters is the main reason behind the delay in rescue efforts in such mountainous regions. Endi