The British Embassy in Kathmandu has assured to provide compensation to the families of the three victims who died after the dilapidated compound wall on the southern premises of the embassy in Lainchaur collapsed in the aftermath of Sunday evening's 6.8 Richter earthquake.
Sajan Shrestha, a 38-year-old security guard at the Danish government's aid agency Danida in Kathmandu, and his eight-year-old daughter Anisha were severely injured when the concrete wall fell on them while riding past the embassy on a motorcycle. They succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at the Manmohan Memorial Hospital the same night.
Another victim, Bir Bahadur Majhi, 19, was fatally injured after being trapped under the weight of the concrete wall. He was also declared dead at the Manmohan Memorial Hospital. Four more people in a passing car were also injured in the tragic incident.
The three were the only victims from Kathmandu in Sunday's quake which nationwide claimed 11 lives, along with hundreds of injuries and damage to houses and infrastructure.
Maya, wife of Sajan Shrestha, on Tuesday, sought compensation from the embassy at the earliest.
She met British Ambassador John Tucknott and demanded that the embassy bear the cost of educating his two remaining daughters and also assure her a job now that the sole breadwinner of the family has died.
In a press meet organised the same day, Tucknott said he has already notified the British government agencies in London about the unfortunate incident and that the compensation amount for all the three victims will be decided following a response from London.
He said the British government will hopefully reply by Wednesday and assured the victims' families of appropriate compensations.
However, some media reports quoted sources as saying that the embassy has already agreed to pay up to 50,000 pounds as compensation for all the three victims.
On Monday, angry protestors had demanded compensation from the British Embassy for the deaths of three people.
Relatives of the three killed including Lainchaur locals as well as people from Gorkha where Sajan Shrestha was originally from had protested in front of the British Embassy demanding compensation.
The anger was fuelled after the guards at the embassy prevented locals from conducting rescue operations on their own immediately after the nearly nine-foot wall collapsed Sunday, media reports claimed. It is reported that the embassy was fenced with lives wires to prevent rescuers from approaching the victims and the search and rescue began in full swing only after the arrival of the army and armed police force personnel.
However, the British embassy denies the charge, saying the electricity wires had fallen over the wall.
Issuing a statement on Monday, the British Embassy said it regretted the deaths and that the British Ambassador met with relatives of the victims and offered his condolences.
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