BHAKTA Badrbhujul has been dubbed the “hero of Durbar High School” after he hauled six teachers to safety from the dust and rubble of the collapsed building last weekend.
Badrbhujal was eating lunch with his three children when last Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. Multiple buildings in Kathmandu – including in the Ranipokhari district the school is in – collapsed entirely.
According to latest government figures‚ the death toll surpassed 7200 overnight. One of those was a teacher writing an industry exam at the school – but thanks to Badrbhujul‚ six of the other 400 teachers there that day would not be among the dead.
“I was eating when the earthquake came. The first thing I did was collect my children‚” said Badrbhujul today. “The ground started shaking. I was in shock. But then I realised the teachers were there. They were trapped.”
The humble school cook‚ who lives on the grounds of the now-destroyed school‚ rushed immediately to where they were trapped. Fortunately‚ there were no children there as it was a Saturday‚ a holy day in the predominantly Hindu country.
“One [teacher] was already dead here when the bricks fell. She was crushed‚” he said‚ pointing to a spot on the dusty concrete.
But in a classroom on the upper level of the two-storey building he heard cries for help.
“They were under the bricks‚ so I just started removing them. I just started lifting them off. Then my oldest son came to help. In about five or six minutes we got them free. I didn’t even think about what I was doing. I just had to help‚” he said.
The teachers were bleeding profusely‚ some from head wounds. Badrbhujul arranged an ambulance for them to go to hospital. All six survived.
The school‚ however‚ is unlikely to ever be the same again. One of the walls is completely missing‚ giving a clear view into the classroom the teachers were trapped in. Pieces of that wall are still lying on the street below‚ along with chunks of corrugated sheeting having crumbled onto the pavement shops and street below.
Durbar is the oldest modern school in Nepal‚ having opened in 1892. Initially‚ only the children of the ruling royal family could be taught there‚ but this changed in the early 1900s. There are currently about 500 students enrolled there.
According to a report in local media‚ as many as 575 schools were completely destroyed in the earthquake or subsequent aftershocks. The figures‚ provided by the Education Division of the Ministry of Education‚ showed that 969 additional school had been partially destroyed.
Fifty-four students and 25 teachers died in the earthquake‚ the report said
Cook's heroism saves Nepal teachers
BHAKTA Badrbhujul has been dubbed the “hero of Durbar High School” after he hauled six teachers to safety from the dust and rubble of the collapsed building last weekend.
Badrbhujal was eating lunch with his three children when last Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. Multiple buildings in Kathmandu – including in the Ranipokhari district the school is in – collapsed entirely.
According to latest government figures‚ the death toll surpassed 7200 overnight. One of those was a teacher writing an industry exam at the school – but thanks to Badrbhujul‚ six of the other 400 teachers there that day would not be among the dead.
“I was eating when the earthquake came. The first thing I did was collect my children‚” said Badrbhujul today. “The ground started shaking. I was in shock. But then I realised the teachers were there. They were trapped.”
The humble school cook‚ who lives on the grounds of the now-destroyed school‚ rushed immediately to where they were trapped. Fortunately‚ there were no children there as it was a Saturday‚ a holy day in the predominantly Hindu country.
“One [teacher] was already dead here when the bricks fell. She was crushed‚” he said‚ pointing to a spot on the dusty concrete.
But in a classroom on the upper level of the two-storey building he heard cries for help.
“They were under the bricks‚ so I just started removing them. I just started lifting them off. Then my oldest son came to help. In about five or six minutes we got them free. I didn’t even think about what I was doing. I just had to help‚” he said.
The teachers were bleeding profusely‚ some from head wounds. Badrbhujul arranged an ambulance for them to go to hospital. All six survived.
The school‚ however‚ is unlikely to ever be the same again. One of the walls is completely missing‚ giving a clear view into the classroom the teachers were trapped in. Pieces of that wall are still lying on the street below‚ along with chunks of corrugated sheeting having crumbled onto the pavement shops and street below.
Durbar is the oldest modern school in Nepal‚ having opened in 1892. Initially‚ only the children of the ruling royal family could be taught there‚ but this changed in the early 1900s. There are currently about 500 students enrolled there.
According to a report in local media‚ as many as 575 schools were completely destroyed in the earthquake or subsequent aftershocks. The figures‚ provided by the Education Division of the Ministry of Education‚ showed that 969 additional school had been partially destroyed.
Fifty-four students and 25 teachers died in the earthquake‚ the report said
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