At least six people died and a person went missing in a landslide that occurred in Bajhang district on Saturday morning. Among the deceased, four are of the same family.

The landslide, which occurred at Mallesi Village in Ward No. 8 of Kedarsiyun Rural Municipality at around 1am, swept away 18 houses and damaged two others, locals say.

[Read: Landslides and floods threaten many settlements in mid-hill region]

Rammati Jethara, 40, her 12-year-old son Prayag, her two daughters Shanti, 14, and Ashmita, 16, and 80-year-old Dale Jethara and 13-year-old Santu Jethara were buried to death, according to Suresh Jethara, a local resident.

“Another local Girija Jethara is still missing,” he said.

The landslide has displaced 400 people in the settlement and put 45 other households at risk of being swept away.

“A team of police from Chainpur has reached the incident site and is busy with rescue efforts. More details will be known by Sunday,” said Chief District Officer of Bajhang Kamalraj Bhandari.

[Read: Why floods and landslides batter Nepal every year]

A team of security personnel from the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepali Army has been searching for missing individuals under the debris. The landslide had started from the Ratapad Community Forest area, just above the settlement.

Rajendra Jethara, one of the survivors, said he was awakened by Girija Jethara, who has been missing since the incident, in the middle of the night after they heard the noise of rushing water.

“When we came outside the house, it was raining heavily due to which an irrigation canal above the settlement was damaged. We awakened some other neighbors and started to climb towards the canal to stop the water flow. But there was a loud noise all of a sudden and I lost my consciousness after that. Girija, who was next to me, got swept away while I got rescued by some villagers,” said Rajendra.

[Read: Climate change to cause frequent landslides in the Himalayan region, including Nepal, says NASA]

Ganesh Bohara, the chairman of Ward No. 8, said none of the villagers in Mallesi are staying in their house after the incident.

“We have provided them shelter at a local school in Ghadyan, a neighboring village,” said Bohara.

According to the District Administration Office, a Nepal Army helicopter brought eight quintals of rice, 37 tarpaulin sheets and 40 blankets to the incident site on Saturday.

“On Sunday, a team of the local administration will reach Mallesi with additional relief,” said Bhandari.  

The story has been updated.