Jul 13, 2007, 12:15 GMT
Kathmandu - The death toll from separate landslides in two western Nepalese districts has risen to at least 26 with three people missing, officials said Friday.
The worst-affected district was Baglung, about 200 kilometres west of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, where at least 21 people died when they were swept away by landslides in two different places.
The landslides were triggered by heavy monsoon rains that started Thursday morning, resulting in the collapse of a mountainside overnight.
'The landslide struck Ghalichour and Jaljala villages sweeping away several houses,' Superintendent of Police Pawan Prasad Kharel said.
'Rescuers have pulled out the bodies of 21 people, while the search for three more people is continuing,' Kharel said.
The landslides struck in the middle of the night and in the early hours of the morning, sweeping away houses along with their occupants. At least 16 people were injured.
Rescue operations were being hampered by continuing rain and bad weather in the area, Kharel said.
Government officials said more rescue workers were sent to the area from Kathmandu Friday afternoon.
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 the monsoon that runs between mid-June and the end of September.
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