The Araniko highway has been blocked since this morning due to a landslide stranding hundreds of vehicles and passengers on both sides. The road was blocked due to a landslide at Panchkhaal of Kaverapalanchok district.

Meanwhile, The flooded Thame River in Solukhumbu district continues to erode the coastal area. A devastating flash flood, accompanied by a mudslide and debris, swept through Thame village in Solukhumbu district on Friday afternoon, damaging nearly half of the settlement.

According to the sources, the flood swept away 20 houses and lodges, a health post and a school in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality. The powerhouse of the local power project was completely damaged while 200 meters of trekking route from Phakding to Namche Jame area has been washed away.

So far, a joint force of the Nepali Army and Nepal Police have rescued 93 people from the flood-affected areas and provided shelter in an army camp while 42 people are taking shelter in a local community building. The Mapya-Khumbu friendship bridge over River Dudh Kosi is damaged. It is assumed that the flood may be a result of an outburst of a glacial lake in the Khumbu area.

People’s movement above Namche in Solukhumbu district has been disrupted after the flood. The trail to the Everest region is disrupted from Lukla to Namche.

By Sweta Singh (Kathmandu)