Rescuers search for missing people in Nepal following flooding and landslides that killed 224

Kathmandu, Nepal: Rescuers in Nepal searched on Tuesday for two dozen people still missing and tried to recover the bodies of those killed in weekend...

Kathmandu, Nepal: Rescuers in Nepal searched on Tuesday for two dozen people still missing and tried to recover the bodies of those killed in weekend flooding and landslides that left more than 200 dead.

The disaster came just ahead of the country’s biggest festival Dasain, which begins on Thursday, and roads were busier than usual as people returned home to celebrate with loved ones.

The damage to roads is likely to hamper travel plans.

The deaths climbed to 224 and the injured to 158 while rescue efforts were underway to look for 24 others, said the government’s chief secretary Eak Narayan Aryal on Tuesday.

Aryal said the flooding damaged 16 hydroelectric power plants, lowering electricity production in Nepal, while 18 other projects under construction were also damaged.