Landslides triggered by monsoon rains have killed at least nine people in Nepal

Landslides triggered by monsoon rains have swept through three villages in Nepal, burying homes and killing at least nine people.

The government is preparing to send rescue teams to the three affected areas, but could not say how long it would take them to reach their destinations in the remote mountains north and west of the capital Kathmandu, said home ministry spokesman Thir Bahadur Chetri.

A landslide buried a house, killing three members of a family sleeping inside in Deurali village in Kaski district, Chetri said.

Another three family members were buried in their house and believed killed in Damauli village in neighbouring Tanahun district, Chetri said. Villagers were trying to dig through debris, but believed they were already dead, he said.

A landslide on Wednesday night in a village in Mugu, about 250 miles north-west of Kathmandu, also killed three boys.

Further details about the incidents were not immediately available because of the remoteness of the villages, which are only accessible on foot.

The landslide deaths were the first reported since the beginning of the monsoon season this week, which has started several weeks later than usual.

Hundreds of such fatalities are reported each year during the rainy season.