At least 30 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in a violent thunderstorm that hit southern Nepal.

The freak storm destroyed houses, overturned vehicles, uprooted trees and brought down power lines in Bara and Parsa districts, officials said.

The casualties included passengers in a bus that was blown off a road, witnesses said.

Special forces have been sent to the area to help with rescue and relief operations.

Thunderstorms are common during the Nepalese spring, correspondents say, but are rarely violent enough to cause many casualties.

"I've never seen anything like this. The winds took away everything, my home and my family," said Ram Babu Patel, whose wife died in the storm.

"I was at home getting ready for dinner when the storm hit. It was unbelievable. We have nothing left," he told AFP news agency.

Rescuers in Bara district said emergency aid was desperately needed.

"The storm destroyed everything in its path. Houses have no roofs and trees are all down," volunteer Prakash Tharu said.

Search teams were unable to reach some areas because roads were blocked by fallen trees and other debris. Police warned that the death toll could rise.

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said the government was doing all it could for the injured. </s> Death toll may increase as rescuers contend with heavy rain and uprooted power lines

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

More than two dozen people have been killed in a severe thunderstorm that swept through parts of southern Nepal and hundreds more were injured, police and officials said.

Nepal’s prime minister KP Sharma Oli wrote in a tweet that 25 people had been killed on Sunday, and around 400 were injured.

“Helicopters have been kept ready for immediate rescue and relief,” Oli said. He offered condolences to the families of the victims.

Rajesh Paudel, government administrator of Bara district where the storm hit, said the death toll may increase as rescuers were still trying to reach many of those affected.

Bara is located about 39 miles (62km) south of Kathmandu, and borders India’s eastern state of Bihar.

Pre-monsoon thunderstorms are common in Nepal during the spring season, but are rarely of an intensity that causes high casualties.

Police superintendent Sanu Ram Bhattarai said rescue teams had been dispatched to the affected villages, but reaching the victims was difficult at night.

Television channels said the storm and accompanying heavy rainfall, uprooted trees and electric and telephone poles, crushing some people to death. </s> Over two dozen people were killed in a severe thunderstorm that swept through parts of Southern Nepal and hundreds more were injured, police and officials said on Monday.

Nepal’s Prime Minster K.P. Sharma Oli in a tweet said 25 people had been killed, and about 400 were injured.

“Helicopters have been kept ready for immediate rescue and relief,” Oli said in his post.

He offered condolences to the families of the victims.

Rajesh Paudel, the top bureaucrat of Bara district, where the storm hit, said the death toll may increase as rescuers were still trying to reach many of those affected.

Bara is located about 62 km South of Kathmandu, and borders India’s Eastern state of Bihar.

Pre-monsoon thunderstorms are common in Nepal during the spring season, although are rarely of an intensity that causes high casualties.

Police officer Sanu Ram Bhattarai said rescue teams had been dispatched to the affected villages, however reaching the victims was difficult at night.

Television channels said the storm and accompanying heavy rainfall, uprooted trees and electric and telephone poles, crushing some people to death. </s> KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Over two dozen people were killed in a severe thunderstorm that swept through parts of southern Nepal late on Sunday and hundreds more were injured, police and officials said.

Nepal’s Prime Minster K.P. Sharma Oli in a tweet said 25 people had been killed, and around 400 were injured.

“Helicopters have been kept ready for immediate rescue and relief,” Oli said in his post. He offered condolences to the families of the victims.

Rajesh Paudel, the top bureaucrat of Bara district, where the storm hit, said the death toll may increase as rescuers were still trying to reach many of those affected.

Bara is located about 62 km (39 miles) south of Kathmandu, and borders India’s eastern state of Bihar.

Pre-monsoon thunderstorms are common in Nepal during the spring season, but are rarely of an intensity that causes high casualties.

Police officer Sanu Ram Bhattarai said rescue teams had been dispatched to the affected villages, but reaching the victims was difficult at night.

Television channels said the storm and accompanying heavy rainfall, uprooted trees and electric and telephone poles, crushing some people to death. </s> A severe rainstorm swept through parts of southern Nepal late on Sunday, killing at least 25 people and injuring nearly 400, the country’s Prime Minister KP Oli said on Twitter.

“Helicopters have been kept ready for immediate rescue and relief,” Oli said, adding that security forces have been alerted. The rescue teams were waiting for the weather to clear to help the injured people in affected villages, the Nepali prime minister said.

The thunderstorm has hit many villages in Bara and Parsa districts, reports said. Bara, located nearly 128 km south of Kathmandu, borders Bihar.

At least 24 people were killed in Bara district, and one person died in Parsa district, PTI quoted unidentified Nepali home ministry officials as saying. The number of deaths was likely to increase as rescuers were still trying to reach many of those affected, Rajesh Poudel, a bureaucrat of Bara district, told Reuters.

Poudel said most of the deaths and injuries were caused by falling objects and collapsing huts and trees, AP reported.

Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor Bishnu Rimal said army personnel have been mobilised. “Two battalions has been mobilised immediately there, here in Mid Air Base, Kathmandu; night vision helicopters are on stand by with rescue team,” Rimal told The Himalayan Times. “Our security agencies are waiting for favourable weather conditions [sic].”

Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Centre said the injured were being treated at various health facilities, PTI reported. The injured were brought to a hospital in cars and ambulances, but roads in many villages were blocked due to fallen trees and electricity poles. </s> Update: At least 27 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a freak storm hit southern Nepal, destroying houses, uprooting trees and toppling electricity poles, officials said.

The thunderstorm swept through the district of Bara and adjoining areas late Sunday killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 600, according to the home ministry.

"The winds took away everything, my home and my family," Ram Babu Patel, 45, who lost his wife in the storm in a village in Bara, told AFP over the phone.

"The storm destroyed everything in its path. Houses have no roofs and trees are all down," Tharu said.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his condolences in a tweet and said that the government would do its best for treatment of the injured.

Kathmandu: At least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured after stormy weather hit southern Nepal, destroying houses, uprooting trees and toppling electricity poles, officials said.

"At least 25 people have been killed and many injured. Search and rescue workers have been deployed," Bhattarai said, warning that the toll may rise, with information about the disaster still coming in.

Prime minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his condolences in a tweet and said that as well as the 25 killed, around 400 were injured.

Storms causing such high casualties in spring are rare in Nepal. Felled trees and electrical poles have blocked the main access highway, hindering rescue efforts, officials said.

Hospitals in the districts were filled with patients, and were facing an acute shortage of blood.

Thunderstorms outside the regular monsoon season are common in Nepal, but never has one been so deadly. Hundreds were killed in 2017, when floods devastated areas across South Asia. </s> KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - Rescuers were struggling Monday to reach villages in southern Nepal cut off by a rainstorm that has killed 28 people and injured hundreds more.

High winds flipped cars and blew one passenger bus off a highway, causing fatalities. Police said other deaths were caused by collapsing walls and falling bricks in homes and toppled trees and electricity poles.

The rainstorm swept through villages in a farming region of Bara and Parsa districts in southern Nepal on Sunday night. The government administrator in Bara, Rajesh Poudel, said Monday morning that 27 were killed there. One person died in neighboring Parsa, administrator Narayan Bhattarai said.

Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli had previously said on Twitter another 400 were injured.

Police official Sanu Ram Bhattarai said police officers and soldiers from neighboring areas had reached the districts Monday and were trying to reach the villages.

Poudel earlier 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.

Local television showed the injured being brought to a hospital by cars, ambulances and even motorcycles, but roads in many villages had been blocked by fallen trees and electricity poles.

Most people in the district are farmers. </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption Homes were destroyed in Managadwa village in Bara district

At least 30 people have been killed and hundreds more injured as a violent thunderstorm swept southern Nepal.

The freak storm destroyed houses, overturned vehicles, uprooted trees and brought down power lines in Bara and Parsa districts, officials said.

The casualties included passengers in a bus that was blown off a road, witnesses said.

Kusum Kalu, 70, told the BBC she had escaped death "by a fraction of a second" when the storm struck.

"I was about to leave the house and just as I opened the door the roof of the house fell down," she told BBC Nepali in Bara district.

"I don't think I would have survived had I already gone to bed or been a fraction of a second late to open the door."

Draupadi Devi, in Balbariyam, Bara, told the BBC that every house in her village had been damaged.

"We were five people at home at that time. A wall crumbled and buried us. We somehow managed to get out of the rubble," she said.

Special forces have been sent to the area to help with rescue and relief operations.

Image caption Many people have been made homeless by the storm

Thunderstorms are common during the Nepalese spring, correspondents say, but are rarely violent enough to cause many casualties.

"I've never seen anything like this. The winds took away everything, my home and my family," said Ram Babu Patel, whose wife died in the storm.

"I was at home getting ready for dinner when the storm hit. It was unbelievable. We have nothing left," he told AFP news agency.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hospitals were inundated with patients after the storm

Rescuers in Bara district said emergency aid was desperately needed.

"The storm destroyed everything in its path. Houses have no roofs and trees are all down," volunteer Prakash Tharu said.

Search teams were unable to reach some areas because roads were blocked by fallen trees and other debris. Police warned that the death toll could rise.

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said the government was doing all it could for the injured. </s> KATHMANDU: At least 27 people have been killed and hundreds injured after stormy weather hit southern Nepal, destroying houses, uprooting trees and toppling electricity poles, officials said.

The thunderstorm swept through the district of Bara and adjoining areas late on Sunday (Mar 31), Bara's police chief Sanu Ram Bhattarai told AFP.

"Search and rescue workers have been deployed," Bhattarai said, warning that the toll may rise, with information about the disaster still coming in.

Storms causing such high casualties in spring are rare in Nepal.



The winds were so fierce that they overturned a bus carrying passengers, witnesses said. Houses, trees and electricity pylons were all toppled in the storm.

Injured victims flocked to local hospitals who were unable to cope and at least seven people were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.

"I've never seen anything like this. The winds took away everything, my home and my family," Ram Babu Patel, 45, whose wife was killed in the storm, told AFP by telephone.

"I was at home getting ready for dinner when the storm hit - it was unbelievable. We have nothing left."

Many of the victims were crushed to death under the debris of their houses or by fallen trees and poles. The strong winds overturned parked cars on the roads.

Prakash Tharu, a volunteer in Bara district hit hard by the storm, described the scene of devastation in the villages.

"The storm destroyed everything in its path. Houses have no roofs and trees are all down," Tharu said.

"There is a desperate need for food and relief."

Rescuers struggled to reach many settlements blocked by fallen trees and electricity poles.

"Security bodies including the army have been working intensely since Sunday night on rescues and relief," said Rajesh Poudel, Bara's district chief.

Every year hundreds die in landslides and floods during Nepal's monsoon season, but storms causing such high casualties in spring are rare.

Nepal's difficult terrain and limited infrastructure often leaves emergency workers struggling to reach far-flung areas.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his condolences and said that the government would do its best for treatment of the injured.

"Helicopters are on standby for necessary rescue and relief tomorrow morning," Oli said.



The provincial government has announced free treatment and a financial assistance of 300,000 rupees (US$2,710) for families of the dead.
The death toll from thunderstorms in southern Nepal rises to 30. Several houses are ruptured, trees uprooted and vehicles overturned in Bara district and Parsa district.