Kathmandu, February 4
A committee formed to investigate an incident in which eight Indian tourists died while asleep at a hotel in Daman of Makawanpur district in the third week of January is submitting its report to the government on Tuesday.
It has been learned that the team has blamed both the hotel, Everest Panorama Resort, and the eight guests for the accident. The report says “the failure of the lower level hotel staff to resist the pressure of the guests” resulted in the accident.
The investigation confirms that the eight people including a child died of asphyxiation after they went to bed by warming the unventilated room with a six-foot electric heater.
Whereas the guests were not prepared with warm clothes and other necessary items to beat the cold of the December night, the hotel staffers also submitted to the guests’ demand of the heater, the panel reports. It has been learned that the staffers had resisted the demand initially, but the guests threatened, “It will be difficult for you if the child is affected by the cold.”
Following the warning, the workers helped the guests take a heater from the restaurant to the room, suggesting they keep the window open. The guests, however, did not bother to heed the request, which turned suicidal for them.
