Army helicopter rescues three trapped by landslide in Gorkha

Three people trapped at Dhaulibhir near Ungilung river in Chumnubri Rural Municipality-6, Gorkha, were rescued by a Nepali Army helicopter on Sunday evening.

They had been stranded at Dhaulibhir, near the site of a landslide in Ungilung earlier on Sunday, said Narayan Sapkota, chief administrative officer of Chumnubri Rural Municipality.

“They had a cattle shed there and became trapped after a landslide suddenly struck on Sunday morning,” Sapkota said. “They were airlifted to Philim.”

The flooding in the Budhigandaki river on Sunday comes less than two months after the August 26 Bhotekoshi disaster, when a sudden surge of water and debris swept through settlements in Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok, killing hundreds and leaving thousands missing. 

The back-to-back disasters have heightened concerns over the vulnerability of communities living along Himalayan river corridors, where landslides can block streams and create temporary barriers that release destructive surges when they collapse.

The latest disaster in northern Gorkha has again exposed the risks posed by landslides and sudden floods to settlements, bridges, hydropower projects and trekking routes downstream. With five people reported missing and several communities cut off by damaged infrastructure, rescue teams face the added challenge of reaching affected areas while landslide activity continues.