At least 47 people were killed and 80 injured when a landslide swept away a number of villages of Taplejung district in Nepal, officials said.

Many more were reported missing in the disaster on Wednesday evening. Police said 16 bodies had been recovered. The affected regions are located in a remote area from the district headquarter, Myaglung, and it takes at least nine hours to reach the spot.

"As of now, people have recovered the bodies of 16 people and they told us that 50 others have perished in the landslide," said Surendra Prasad Bhattarai, assistant chief district officer of Taplejung. At least six villages — Liwang, Thokling, Thinglabu, Khalung , Khokling and Lingket — were affected by the landslips. The number of casualties may rise. Continuous rains and flash floods in the streams have hampered rescue efforts, police said.

Helicopters of the Nepali Army from Kathmandu have not been able to reach the affected site due to bad weather. Locals and police personnel are involved in the rescue work. Only two of the injured have been ferried to the district hospital. The remaining are yet to receive medical treatment.

– IANS