12 killed, 65 missing in Nepal's8k8 free to 88 landslides

KATHMANDU -- Twelve people were killed and 65 others went missing after their buses were swept away by landslides in separate incidents on Thursday night and Friday morning, local police said.

On Thursday night, seven members of one family and three others died in landslides in Pokhara of Kaski district, while another person lost her life in Madi Rural Municipality of the district, said Basant Kumar Sharma, spokesperson for the district police.

"We have recovered 11 dead bodies from three places in the district," Sharma told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, 65 passengers went missing after two buses were swept away by landslides in Chitwan district on the Mugling-Narayanghat stretch of a highway that connects Kathmandu with the rest of the country.

One bus with 24 passengers aboard was enroute to Kathmandu from Birgunj, while the other carrying 41 passengers was going to Gaur in Rautahat district from Kathmandu.

"Both buses are suspected to have fallen in the Trishuli River. Rescue teams that include divers have been mobilized to trace them," Bhesh Raj Rijal, spokesperson for the district police, told Xinhua.

In another incident, a driver of another bus was killed after a falling stone hit him in Chitwan on the same stretch of the highway.

Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed the security forces to expedite the rescue efforts.

Floods, mudslides and landslides sparked by heavy rains are common in Nepal during the monsoon season which usually runs from mid-June to early October.