1 dead, 17 missing in floods in Nepal

Kathmandu: At least one person died and 17 others went missing in floods triggered by heavy rains in Sankhuwasabha district in eastern Nepal, local police said on Sunday.

Three more people were injured after the Hewa Khola river became swollen on Saturday night under heavy rains, said district police official Birendra Godar.

Among them, 18 people were working for a Hewa Khola hydropower plant under construction, which was submerged in floods and appeared badly damaged, Godar added.

Some houses, two motorable bridges and some livestock animals were also swept away in floods, the police official said, noting that the floods were raging unabated till Sunday morning, making the rescue operation difficult, Xinhua news agency reported.

The annual monsoon season usually starts in Nepal around mid-June, causing loss of lives and property in floods and landslides in the mountainous country.