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Dozens feared dead in mudslide
28/08/2006 12:57 - (SA)
Kathmandu - Dozens of people were feared dead after mudslides washed away a mountainside village in a remote region of Nepal and heavy rains submerged several more, officials said on Monday.
The mudslides, caused by heavy monsoon rains, hit the village of Khaptad on Sunday, but details were scarce because the area in western Nepal is a five-hour walk to the nearest telephone, said regional police inspector Upendra Purush Timilsena.
Earlier he said two villages were hit because Khaptad is divided into two distinct sections divided by a stream. About 80 houses were washed away there, he said.
Timilsena said police teams had been sent to the area some 550km west of the capital Kathmandu.
Villages flooded
Also, about 10 villages along the Rapti River were flooded and several houses washed away, said Narendra Raj Sharma, chief administrator of the district.
At least six people were killed in the flooding on Sunday and hundreds more were out of contact, said Sharma. "We are still trying to acquire details on the losses."
Sharma said a rescue team sent to the area failed to reach it and first contact was made only on Monday morning when a helicopter was sent.
"We have also requested the home ministry to send some rubber boats and other rescue equipment," he said.
Every year monsoon rain kills hundreds of people across South Asia, with people drowning in floods, being crushed by landslides or collapsed houses, or getting electrocuted.
- AP
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