25 Dead and Hundreds Injured in Rainstorm in Nepal, Official Says

(KATHMANDU, Nepal) — A rainstorm swept through villages in a farming region of southern Nepal on Sunday, and the government said the 25 reported deaths and hundreds of injuries were likely to increase.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli said on Twitter he had received a report of 25 people killed and 400 injured.

He said security forces were alerted. Rescue helicopters with night vision capabilities were waiting for the weather to clear to help bring the injured from the villages to medical facilities.

Government administrator Rajesh Poudel said the number of deaths would likely increase as the storm had hit many villages in the Bara district, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital, Kathmandu.

He said police and army rescuers were fanned around the district trying to reach the villages, but rescue efforts were difficult at night.

The injured were being brought to a hospital by cars and ambulances, but roads in many villages had been blocked by fallen trees and electricity poles.

Poudel said most of the deaths and injuries were because of flying objects, falling huts and trees. Most people in the district are farmers.