Four persons went missing in the wee hours of Monday after the rain-fed Tinau river swept a jeep away in Palpa.

The Mustang jeep (Lu 1 Ja 1217) was returning to Tansen when it was swept away at around 2am.

Police have identified the missing persons as Usha Shrestha, 27, of Tansen-1, Padam Bahadur Kunwar, 40, of Baganaskali-3 and Tilak Bahadur Gaha, 43, an employee at the District Forest Office, and his wife Maya Gaha, 40.

Shakti Shrestha, who was driving the jeep, said the vehicle’s engine suddenly stopped when “we were in the middle of the swollen river”. It was dark and we could not gauge the depth of water, added Shrestha, who was rescued by relatives. By the time security forces arrived, the vehicle had already been swept away. But the victims’ relatives said security personnel “took a long time” to reach the incident site.

“Security forces were unable to trace the victims in the flooded river,” said SP Hariraj Wagle, adding that the water level is yet to recede. Security personnel had searched for victims in the Charchare, Kerabari, Jhumsa and Dobhan areas.

Rain-fed rivers and streams across the country of late have been wreaking havoc, inundating houses, washing away settlements and people and leaving several families in the lurch.

In Kaski, two persons were swept away by the Harman stream at Chankhapur.

Police identified the victims as Lalit Pun and Indra Bahadur Pun of Nadipur in Pokhara.

In Jhapa, more than 60 houses were inundated on Monday after floodwaters from the Mechi River gushed into the settlement. According to the police, the flood-hit families have been kept at Bhadrapur Secondary School.

The Flood Forecasting Section of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has categorised areas between Saptari and Bara as “high-risk” zone, saying water levels in Triyuga, Khado, Ratu and Gagan rivers and streams are expected to rise. It has also urged the general public and other concerned, particularly in the Tarai region, to be cautious about possible flooding.