The incident in which five lives were lost and five left with shrapnel injuries had occurred when one of them accidentally stepped on a stray landmine while playing around on their way for a swim. Those living with shrapnels in their bodies are Jaikali Wali, 19, Faud Bahadur Wali, 22, Amrit Wali, 20, Ratna Wali, 11, and Lalita Wali, 15, and the deceased were Bishnu Wali, Sar Bahadur Wali, Janga Bahadur Wali, Tirtha Wali, and Jaya Bahadur Wali.

“We had reached the site as soon as we heard about it but it was too late,” lamented Biru Wali who had lost a son in the incident. Although surgeons removed some at the time, most of them are living with a number of shrapnels, as much as a dozen, lodged inside their body. Although the children were taken to Kanti Children’s Hospital in the Capital, the hospital, after ascertaining the number of shrapnel in their bodies had referred them elsewhere. “But we could not afford for the treatment and had to return,” said Bal Bahadur Wali, showing the seven shrapnel injuries in the body of his son, Faud Bahadur.

Meanwhile, the families of the victim, with a glimmer of hope that their children could lead a normal life, have arrived at the district headquarters in Liwang to seek financial assistance for treatment.

The victims’ families have been going door-to-door requesting for help in order to raise money for the treatment. “We just want our children to get better,” said a parent.

Parents say the children still have nightmares about the fateful day.