A major landslide about 500m wide has dropped down on the Bhote Kosi River upstream from Dolalghat, already forming a lake 5km long.
Pic: Saroj DongA big section of the Arniko Highway joining Nepal and China has been washed away, and the lake is inundating settlements, farms and bridges. There is a danger that the lake will burst, unleashing a flashflood downstream.
Local police is said to have been deployed, and the Nepal Army is undertaking aerial reconnaissance. Settlements downstream up to the Sun Kosi have been notified. As word spread, there is panic in some areas as people fled to higher ground.
The landslide site is 1km upstream from the intake structure of the Sun Kosi Power House at Dolalghat, and downstream from the Bhote Kosi Hydroelectric Project.
The town of Jure has been completely buried under debris that blocked Bhote Kosi river.A previous flashflood created by a glacial lake burst in Tibet caused a devastating flood on the Bhote Kosi in 1982, washing off a 20km section of the Highway, damaging power stations and killing at least 12 people.
Filed: 08.30AM