Heavy rains kill at least 47 in Nepal, block roads

Heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods blocking roads, washing away bridges and killing at least 47 people since Friday in Nepal, officials said on Sunday, Report informs via Reuters.

Thirty-five people were killed in separate landslides in the Ilam district in the east bordering India, said Kalidas Dhauboji, a spokesperson for the Armed Police Force.

Nine people were missing after being washed away by floods and three others were killed in lightning strikes elsewhere in Nepal, he added.

"Rescue efforts for the missing persons are going on," said Shanti Mahat, a National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority spokesperson in Nepal.

Across the border in the eastern Indian hill region of Darjeeling in West Bengal, at least seven people were killed due to landslides following heavy rainfall, according to local media reports.

"Seven dead bodies have already been recovered from the debris. We have information about two more people. Work is being done to recover their bodies too," Abhishek Roy, a Darjeeling district police official said on Sunday, according to a post from Indian news agency ANI on social media platform X.

Several highways have been blocked by landslides and washed away by floods, stranding hundreds of passengers, authorities said.

"Domestic flights are largely disrupted but international flights are operating normally," said Rinji Sherpa, a spokesperson for Kathmandu airport, Nepal's biggest international gateway.