KATMANDU, Nepal – A massive landslide killed at least eight people and blocked a mountain river in northern Nepal on Saturday, causing the water to form a lake that was threatening to burst and sweep several villages, officials said.
The death toll could climb because many houses were buried under piles of rock and soil or submerged by the rising water, said police official Arun Chetri, adding that the number of missing people could not be immediately determined.
A man who was among the dozens of people injured by the landslide, which occurred at around 3 a.m. in the Sindhupalchowk area, about 75 miles east of Katmandu, said the death toll could be higher.
“There are nearly 100 people in the 60 houses in my village and 20 more people in the neighboring village who were buried by the landslide. All of them are likely dead,” Durga Lal Shrestha told The Associated Press from his hospital bed in Katmandu, the capital, where he was flown by helicopter.
“The walls in my house caved in, but the roof was fine, and that is how we were able to survive,” he said. “When we came out, it was dark and muddy. Everyone was screaming, and it was a chaotic situation.”
About 40 people were injured. Besides Shrestha, 10 others were flown to Katmandu for hospital treatment, including a Belgian man..
By midmorning, the rain had stopped, and the weather conditions had improved.
After an emergency meeting, the Home Ministry ordered the army to remove the wall of mud and rocks that had created a temporary dam to be removed and prepare for a disaster if the walls of the newly formed lake burst. The water already has formed a lake 2 miles in length.
Explosives flown in by the army were to be used to release the water, said Gopal Parajuli, the chief government administrator in the area.
Landslides are common in mostly mountainous Nepal during the rainy season, which runs from June through September.
