Landslide blocks river in Nepal

Thousands of panic-stricken villagers fled their homes fearing flash floods after an overnight landslide blocked a river in quake-hit Nepal's mountainous north-west, officials said yesterday.

The landslide, which occurred at around midnight, sent mud and rocks surging into the Kali Gandaki river in Myagdi district, causing water levels to rise by 150 metres (490 feet), local official Yam Bahadur Chokhal said.

An army helicopter carrying soldiers and geologists has reached the site, according to home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal.

"The chopper has landed and our experts are now assessing the situation to find the best way to open the blockage and drain the two-kilometre-long artificial lake created by the landslide," Dhakal told AFP.

Fresh, smaller landslides have occurred through the morning and are continuing to send debris into the river, hampering efforts to clear the blockage, according to police and district officials.

No one was hurt or killed in the landslide, according to officials. Police have issued an alert for villagers living along the river, which begins near the Nepal-China border and flows into northern India, eventually joining the Ganges.

The snow-fed waters are also the site of Nepal's largest hydroelectric project that generates 144 megawatts of power, located south of the landslide-blocked area.

Twin quakes have devastated Nepal in recent weeks, killing more than 8,600 people, while leaving thousands in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.