21 killed in India, Nepal due to heavy rains

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – At least 21 people were killed in India and Nepal due to floods and landslides after days of heavy rains battered the region.

Rain-triggered landslides have resulted in 14 fatalities and 8 individuals missing in Nepal, authorities said on Sunday.

"Different incidents of landslides have claimed 14 lives in Ilam district, while four others are missing. Similarly, four trekkers are missing in a flood in Rasuwa district," Binod Ghimire, Nepal Police spokesperson, told Xinhua News.

Among the fatalities in Ilam, six were from the same family and five others from a different family, Ghimire added.

Continuous rainfall since Friday has disrupted daily life in much of Nepal, leading to landslides and floods that have blocked highways and roads.

Since Saturday, a three-day ban on vehicular movement into and out of the Kathmandu Valley has been enforced, according to the Kathmandu Post.

In neighboring India’s West Bengal state, officials said heavy rains wreaked havoc in the region, killing at least seven people.

Abhishek Ray, a senior police official in the state’s Darjeeling district, told reporters that seven bodies have been recovered following the heavy rainfall, which triggered landslides in the district.

Indian parliamentarian from Darjeeling Raju Bista said on the US social media company X that massive damage has been caused due to extremely heavy rainfall in many parts of the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of the state.