Four killed, three missing in landslides, flooding in Nepal

At least four people have been killed and three have gone missing after heavy monsoon rains over the weekend triggered landslides and flooding across Nepal, officials said on Monday.

A 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man died early Sunday when aflooded river swept away their home in Chhatiwan village in north-eastern Nepal, said Kumod Dhungel, a local police officer."A 55-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man and his 13-year-old daughter were swept away in the flood," he said, adding that the nine people who were injured in the incident were being treated in a hospital in the capital Kathmandu.A 29-year-old man was killed after being swept away by a flooded river in south-eastern Nepal on Sunday, local media reported.In an incident in Kathmandu, a 10-year-old girl playing with her cousin fell into sewage and was drawn into a swollen river. She died hours later in a hospital on Saturday.  Another girl who fell into a pit in the city was rescued by passersby.These incidents have prompted the government to instruct authorities to raise safety standards on roads under construction in Kathmandu.  The monsoon in Nepal, which lasts from July to September, causes disastrous landslides and flooding every year, killing hundreds of people.