Killer landslides hit Nepal after monsoon rains

Source: Agencies  |   2009-7-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

LANDSLIDES triggered by monsoon rains swept through three villages in Nepal's mountainous west yesterday, burying homes and killing at least nine people.

The government was preparing to send rescue teams to the three affected areas, but could not say how long it would take for them to reach their destinations in the remote mountains north and west of the capital of Katmandu, said home ministry spokesman Thir Bahadur Chetri.

A landslide buried a house, killing three members of a family sleeping inside early yesterday in Deurali village in Kaski district, Chetri said. The village is about 200 kilometers west of Katmandu.

Another three family members were buried in their house and believed killed in Damauli village in neighboring Tanahun district, according to Chetri.

A landslide on Wednesday night in a village in Mugu, about 400km northwest of Katmandu, also killed three boys.