Death Toll In Nepal Landslides Climbs To 28

By Yuba Nath Lamsal KATHMANDU, June 11 (Bernama) -- At least 28 people died and hundreds others reported missing as more than three dozen houses were swept away by landslides at six villages in Taplejung, eastern Nepal Wednesday night, said the police. The bodies were retrieved from the debris of the damaged houses, with the death toll likely to rise, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shanti Raj Koirala of Taplejung told Bernama in a telephone interview Thursday. “It is not certain how many people died as landslides and swollen rivers have swept away several houses and residents. "People in several landslide-prone villages have vacated their houses to seek a safer place...and many of them are out of communication," he said. More than two dozen people who were injured during the landslides were taken to nearby hospitals, according to the police. The first heavy monsoon rain triggered the landslides in several villages of the districts. The landslides damaged properties worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, said Police Inspector Devi Prasad Fago of Taplejung. Bad weather hampered rescue work operations carried out by police and army personnel, and the residents. Taplejung is the eastern district of Nepal bordering Indian and China. Monsoon rain, which begins in Nepal June 10, and lasts until the third week of September, triggers landslides in the hilly region and floods in the southern plains, damaging property worth millions of dollars annually. This year’s monsoon is expected to cause more landslides and floods as the land has become weak due to the April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks. -- BERNAMA