A FAMILY home, which housed three decades’ of memories for a Swindon man, was wiped out in minutes during Saturday’s devastating earthquake in Nepal, leaving him determined to rebuild it.

Housing and infrastructure across the capital and Kathmandu Valley collapsed on Saturday afternoon as a a result of the earthquake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.

The death toll soared past 3,700 yesterday, even without a full accounting from vulnerable mountain villages rescue workers are still struggling to reach.

Rajan Chhetri is one of those homeowners who has been left counting the cost of the catastrophe, though he maintains the safety of his family in the country remains paramount.

The 48-year-old civil security officer, who lives in Bedwyn Close, Pinehurst, moved to Swindon in July 2005, from a home in the Asian nation he had occupied for the best part of 30 years.

As he waited for news of family at the centre of the earthquake, Rajan received a call from one of his brothers still in the country, who said his house simply no longer existed.

“It’s hard. I am very pleased my family is safe and haven’t come to any harm, but of course it is very difficult to know my house has gone,” he said.

“Everybody has been shocked by the news, including my three daughters and two sons.”

The house may have gone and Rajan’s family may be in temporary shelter for now, but he is determined to return to his homeland and rebuild the 10-room home.

He accepts it was not an expensive property, valued between £5,000 and £6,000, but the thought it had collapsed on his occupying family gave him a sleepless Saturday night.

“I will try to rebuild the house. I will try to fly back to Nepal in the next couple of months,” he said.

“I have given assurances to my brothers and sisters that I will build the same house again, in the same location.”

He is yet to speak with his sister as a result of the selected phone and internet connections severed by the incident.

He said people in the country still don’t feel safe and remain on open ground out of fear it will repeat itself, wreaking yet further misery on an already crippled country.

“We are all absolutely devastated. They still don’t feel safe. Everyone is shocked and scared – they think it will happen again,” he said.

“There are other places coming into the country to help. My family also has people around them helping. Everyone is looking after each other.

“I don’t feel well. I’m still working, even though I’m trying to collect donations for the relief fund.”

Yesterday the Advertiser revealed the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire’s plans to create a relief fund for their countrymen with chairman Rajan at the forefront of the emergency meetings being held.

 To donate to Oxfam’s appeal to help the people in Nepal affected by the earthquake, log on to www.oxfam.org.uk/nepal_appeal

  • Meanwhile, a firefighter from Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service has been deployed to Nepal’s earthquake zone as part of the search and rescue organisation Serve On, which is based at Salisbury fire station.

Dan Cooke, station manager at Salisbury, is part of an eight person team sent by Serve On to Nepal on Sunday morning.

The team has travelled with the equipment needed to locate signs of life underneath collapsed buildings and then safely recover people who have been trapped.

  • The Queen has described how she was "shocked" to hear about the "appalling loss of life and injuries" caused by the Nepal earthquake, in a message of support to the nation's president Ram Baran Yadav.

The Queen's message read: "I was shocked to hear of the appalling loss of life and injuries caused by the earthquake.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this disaster and with those bereaved and affected.

"Prince Philip joins me in extending our deepest sympathy to you and the Nepali people. The thoughts of everyone in the United Kingdom are with the families of all those caught up in this terrible event."