Kathmandu, Oct 11 (IANS) Five people have gone missing after a massive landslide blocked the Budhi Gandaki River and triggered a debris-laden flood in Nepal’s western Gorkha district on Sunday, disaster management authorities said.

The landslide occurred between the Lokpa and Chumling areas of Chumnubri Rural Municipality, blocking the river and triggering a massive flood that caused significant property damage, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) said in a press statement.

The missing people include two women and three men who were staying at a temporary shepherd settlement in the Ungilung area of the rural municipality, the authority said. They remain out of contact following the incident.

Rescue and response operations have been mobilised in the affected area. Four Nepal Army helicopters have been deployed to conduct search and rescue operations. So far, 47 people have been rescued by the helicopters and taken to safe locations, the authority said.

Twelve employees of Times Urja Pvt. Ltd., which is developing the 341-MW Budhi Gandaki hydropower project in the area, were evacuated to a safe location. Essential relief supplies are also being transported to the affected areas by road and helicopter.

Upon receiving information about the flood at 6:00 a.m., the Flood Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology disseminated early warnings via SMS to residents in Gorkha and Dhading districts and as far as Chainighat in Chitwan district.

The authority also sent SMS notifications to 221 emergency responders across Gorkha, Dhading, Tanahun, Chitwan, Nawalparasi East, and Nawalparasi West districts, as well as at the central level, instructing them to mobilise immediately for response operations.

Floodwaters in the Budhi Gandaki River basin have washed away several bridges, swept away houses and damaged infrastructure, including a hydropower project’s construction camp, according to the authority.

In a separate statement, the Independent Power Producers’ Association, Nepal (IPPAN), which represents private-sector power developers in the country, said four hydropower projects along the Budhi Gandaki River and its tributaries, with a combined installed capacity of 412.09 MW, had been affected.

--IANS

scor/ksk/vd