27 DIE IN NEPAL FREAK STORM

600 injured as massive storm hits Bara district, adjoining areas

AT least 27 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a freak storm hit southern Nepal, destroying houses, uprooting trees and toppling electricity

poles, officials said.

The thunderstorm swept through the district of Bara and adjoining areas late on Sunday, killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 600, according to the Home Ministry.

“The winds took away everything, my home and my family,” Ram Babu Patel, 45, who lost his wife in the storm in a village in Bara, said over the phone.

Prakash Tharu, a volunteer on the ground, described a scene of devastation in the villages.

“The storm destroyed everything in its path. Houses have no roofs and trees are all down.

“There is a desperate need for food and relief.”

Local and district hospitals were inundated with injured victims coming in from affected areas.

Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli expressed his condolences in a tweet and said the government would do its best for treatment of the injured.

Storms causing such high casualties in spring are rare in Nepal.

EPA PIC Policemen conducting rescue operations in Managadwa village in Bara yesterday after it was hit by a storm.