Sankhu, a community of 10,000 people about 18 kilometers east of Kathmandu, estimate their community lost more than 80 percent of its buildings in the earthquake. In spite of this, Sankhu was fortunate because lives were spared. The adults were already working in the fields and the children were outside at play at the time of the earthquake.
In Sankhu Most Lives Spared
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A private team of 60 volunteers from a Chinese NGO is among the foreign teams involved in search and rescue operations in the community, Sankhu, Nepal, April 29, 2015. (Rosyla Kalden/VOA))
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Sankhu, once a thriving trading post between Kathmandu and Tibet, has been mostly dependent on farming in modern times, Sankhu, Nepal, April 29, 2015. (Steve Herman/VOA)
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A family searches for any valuables they can find in their destroyed home, Sankhu, Nepal, April 29, 2015. (Rosyla Kalden/VOA)
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Locals estimate more than 80 percent of the structures in Sankhu were destroyed, Sankhu, Nepal, April 29, 2015. (Rosyla Kalden/VOA)