Kathmandu - At least 15 people were killed and three others
missing after landslides hit two distinct districts in western Nepal,
officials said Friday.
The worst-affected was Ghalichour village in Baglung district,
about 200 kilometres west of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, which
suffered two separate landslides Thursday night after heavy monsoon
rains.
Police said landslides had swept away 16 houses along with their
occupants who were sleeping at the time of the tragedy.
'The landslide killed 10 people, including four sheltering in the
same house with another three people still missing,' Superintendent
of Police Pawan Prasad Kharel said.
At least 16 people were injured in the landslide.
Rescue operations were being hampered by continuing rain and bad
weather in the area, Kharel said.
Another five people also died when a landslide hit the
mid-western district of Bajura, about 350 kilometres west of
Kathmandu.
Government officials said five people, including an infant, were
buried alive when their house was hit by a landslide in Badevmalathi
Village.
West Nepal is reeling under heavy monsoon rains since Thursday
morning.
The country's meteorological department said areas in western
Nepal had received heavy rainfall with some places recording in
excess of 100 millimetres of rain in a 24-hour period.
Hundreds of people die in landslides and flash floods across Nepal
during monsoon that runs between mid-June and the end of September.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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