At least 12 killed in Nepal landslides triggered by monsoon rain

KATHMANDU (AFP) - At least 12 people have been killed in landslides triggered by three days of heavy monsoon rain in remote parts of Nepal, officials said on Tuesday.

Seven members of the same family, including five children, were killed on Monday after a landslide buried their house in a village in north-western Nepal, a local police officer said.

"Part of a hillside above Malika village broke away and smashed into the house below, killing all the family members," the officer, Mr Prakash Gharti Magar, said.

In Baitadi district in the country's west, five people were killed on Tuesday morning after a landslide also buried their homes, a local police officer said.

"Their houses were in a gorge in the remote Siddheswar village. Two women, a 12-year-old boy and two toddlers were killed by the landslide," local police inspector Manoj Kumar Shahi said.

Hundreds of people die every year from flooding and landslides during the monsoon season in Nepal.

The annual monsoon has also struck early over the border in India, with flash floods washing away homes and roads, leaving at least 60 people feared dead.

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