22 killed, scores missing in Nepal due to monsoon-triggered landslides

Kathmandu: The death toll in the multiple landslides triggered by incessant rains across Nepal in the past 24 hours has risen to 22, the Home Ministry said on Friday. Seven people, including three children, lost their lives due to landslides in Kaski district.

Five of them were killed after a landslide swept away a house in Sarangkot area in Pokhara in the district in the wee hours of Friday, police said. Around 10 people were injured in the same incident and are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, they said.

In two separate incidents of landslides on Thursday night, three members of a family were killed in Besishahar of Lamjung district and two others lost their lives in Aathbiskot area of Rukum district.

Three people lost their lives in landslides in Myagdi district. In Jajarkot district, among the 12 people who had gone missing during the landslides, dead bodies of seven, including a 10-year-old child, have been recovered, the ministry officials said.

Seven people were untraceable after their house was wiped out by a landslide in Myagdi district. Meanwhile, a landslide that occurred in Jogimara area has obstructed the Prithi Highway in western Nepal.

Narayani and other major rivers in the country have swollen due to the continuous downpour for the last 48 hours. Meteorological Department has forecast that the monsoon rains will last for another three days.