Nepal landslide kills woman, seven children; army and police personnel continue search for survivors in Bheri area

Kathmandu: A landslide killed a woman and at least seven children in Nepal over the weekend, as officials issued warnings on Monday of the risk of more landslides and flash floods due to torrential rain. [caption id=“attachment_4908381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image. Reuters.[/caption] Working in the downpour, rescuers in Bheri town, about 310 kilometers west of capital Kathmandu, were still searching for a missing boy. They have pulled out one survivor. “Army and police personnel are digging with shovels through mud for a 12-year-old boy who is missing,” Krishna Prasad Khatiwada, a senior government official in Bheri, told Reuters by phone. The dead children were aged between three and eleven years. Flash floods and landslides in the June-September monsoon season are common in mostly mountainous Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest. Samir Shrestha, an official at the Kathmandu weather forecasting office, said more landslides and flash floods were likely as heavy rains were forecast for hilly areas in central and western Nepal through Tuesday. Residents in Terai, the southern low lying region bordering India, had been warned to beware of floods as water levels were rising in many rivers, he said.