Ten people died and three have been missing in a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall at Kotalbara of ward 5 in Rolpa’s Thabang Rural Municipality, officials say.

Chief District Officer Ganga Bahadur Chhetri confirmed the casualties.

The victims have been identified as 18-year-old Shanti Pun Magar, 60-year-old Kamal Bahadur Pun Magar, 80-year-old Manrakhi Pun Magar, 75-year-old Dal Bahadur Pun Magar and 85-year-old Hastakala Roka Magar.

Five more bodies were recovered from different locations along the Lungri river in Rolpa and the Madi river in neighbouring Pyuthan. Three of the victims have been identified, Chhetri said.

The heavy rainfall on Wednesday evening caused the disaster in a small settlement called Uwa. In the downpour lasting nearly an hour and a half, residents had scrambled to bring their children and livestock indoors.

At around 7:30pm, when the rain had just begun to subside, a torrent of mud and debris came crashing down. The landslide struck with such force and speed that residents had little chance to escape.

When 11 houses, both old and newly built, were swept away, the 13 residents were buried.

Dhukmann Roka Magar, a community leader from a neighbouring village, said the landslide came right over the houses and buried them.

Of the three people who managed to flee, Himal Pun Magar, 22, and Sanjay Gharti Magar, 25, have been seriously injured. They informed the police about the incident before being taken to Butwal after preliminary treatment in Sulichaur.

The disaster struck one of the remotest parts of Uwa, making rescue operation difficult. Because the landslide occurred after dark, police and villagers struggled to work through the night. The heavy rain also knocked out electricity, leaving the devastated settlement without power.

By early Thursday morning, the scale of the disaster had become clearer. Police, joined by the Nepali Army, Armed Police Force and residents, began a search for the missing.

By Thursday evening, rescuers were still struggling to recover and identify the bodies.

“The fact that whole houses were buried made rescue extremely challenging,” Rolpa CDO Chhetri said after inspecting the site.

Chhetri confirmed that ten bodies had been recovered as of Thursday evening. A total of five bodies were found at the landslide site and five others in Pyuthan. Three people remain missing.

The victims ranged in age from five to 85 years. Eight were men, five women. The number of livestock killed in the disaster has yet to be established.

Among the bodies recovered along the Lungri river in Rolpa and Madi River in Pyuthan, 38-year-old Jun Kumari Pun, nine-year-old Ashim Pun and five-year-old Ashok Pun have been identified. The identities of two others remain unknown, the CDO said.

The landslide devastated entire families.

Kamal Bahadur Pun Magar, along with his daughter Jun Kumari and two grandchildren, perished in the disaster. Dal Bahadur Pun Magar died along with his wife and granddaughter Shanti. Bal Bahadur and Lil Bahadur Pun Magar were brothers. Lil Bahadur’s wife was also among the dead.

Ajambar Pun Magar, 80, lived alone in a tarpaulin hut. Hastakala Roka Magar, 85, the mother of former Nepal Magar Sangh chair Nabin Roka Magar, also lived by herself.

Deputy Superintendent Pancha Kumar Bakhu, chief of the Rolpa Police, said the victims had been living in an unsafe location.

The upper part of Uwa is steep and difficult to inhabit, but the lower area where Kotalbara stood was relatively flat. For many, it had been an attractive place to build homes.

Villagers say the settlement had been established for about 20 years.

“Only Pun Magars and Gharti Magars lived here,” said Dhukmann Roka Magar. “They had descended from the upper village.”

The settlement’s vulnerability had grown as roads were cut through the hills above.

A road from Sulichaur to Thabang passed through the upper part of Kotalbara. Authorities say soil had been excavated haphazardly during road construction, leaving the slopes above the village unstable.

The dumping of excavated soil and the unusually heavy rainfall combined to trigger the mudslide.

The landslide originated at the place called Gyarpi, about a kilometre above the village. Rock tumbled down Surbang before hitting Kotalbara.

In 2016, a landslide in the Uwa area hit the house of Nande Pun, killing members of his family. Nande was abroad at the time. His wife and two sons were killed when their home was buried.