(Reuters) — Landslides triggered by torrential rain in Nepal swept through villages on Thursday (July 30), killing at least 30 people, home ministry officials said.
The landslides struck the villages near the resort town of Pokhara, 125 km (77 miles) west of Kathmandu shortly after midnight.
In the village of Lumle about half of the homes were buried or destroyed by a torrent of mud and rocks.
A local resident said the landslide escalated at around 2:30 in the morning.
“Last night at about 11:30 the landslide started and after that, around 2:30 in the morning, the landslide got much bigger,” he said.
He added that around 16 houses were totally gutted and around 40 people were believed to be buried, he said at the time around 15 bodies had been found.
Lumle is about 15 km (9 miles) from the start of the Annapurna Circuit, a hiking route around the world’s 10th tallest mountain that attracts around 100,000 tourists a year.
Two powerful earthquakes in Nepal this year that killed almost 9,000 people have raised the risk of landslides across the mountainous country during the rainy season, which lasts from June to September.
Heavy monsoon rains have also caused flooding and fatalities across northern India in recent days.