Kathmandu: The death toll in a massive landslide that blocked Sunkoshi river in Sindulpachowk district of Nepal climbed to 23 on Monday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police of the district, Bharat Vohra said, there are 166 people missing in the landslide that struck Jure, Makha which lies about 130 kilometres north-east of Kathmandu.
The exact number of houses buried under the landslide is not exactly known, Vohra said.
The landslide displaced over five thousand people, Vohra added.
Seven mini hydro power plants have closed due to the landslide with a loss of sixty five megawatt of electricity. With little hope of finding the missing alive, the relief operations have been using excavators and dozers.
A huge hill had suddenly collapsed at 2am (local time) on Sunday, burying at least 40 homes before dumping mud and stones into the Sunkoshi river at Mankha village in Sindhupal chowk district, 75 km northeast of the capital Kathmandu.
