KATHMANDU • Heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides that killed at least 23 people and displaced thousands in western Nepal, officials said yesterday.

Nine people were killed and more than 30 were missing in Myagdi district, 200km north-west of the capital Kathmandu, where several houses were destroyed on Friday, district administrator Gyan Nath Dhakal said.

"The toll is expected to increase as rescuers had just reached the remote site to look for victims," Mr Dhakal said, adding that 50 people had been plucked to safety using helicopters.

In neighbouring Kaski district, seven people were killed, said a second government official in the tourist town of Pokhara. Another seven were killed in Jajarkot district in the far west.

"We are searching for eight people who are still missing,"said senior police official Kishore Shrestha.

In the southern plains bordering India, the Koshi river, which causes deadly floods in the eastern Indian state of Bihar almost every year, was flowing above the danger level, police said.

Landslides and flash floods are common occurrences in mountainous Nepal during the June-September monsoon every year.

REUTERS