A catastrophic landslide triggered by days of heavy rainfall has buried approximately 200 meters of the Prithvi Highway at Aanbu Khaireni in Tanahun district, severing the vital road link between Kathmandu and Pokhara. The landslide occurred at approximately 3:30 AM, sending an estimated 50,000 cubic meters of earth, rock, and debris cascading down the hillside onto the highway and into the Trishuli River below. The Department of Roads confirmed that the road is completely impassable in both directions and that heavy machinery has been mobilized from Mugling and Bharatpur for clearance operations.

At least three vehicles, including a night bus carrying 38 passengers, were caught in the landslide zone. Rescue teams from the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force have been working since dawn to reach the buried vehicles. Eight survivors have been pulled from the wreckage so far, with at least four people confirmed dead. Search operations are continuing, but intermittent rainfall and the risk of secondary slides are severely hampering rescue efforts. A temporary helipad has been established near the site to evacuate critically injured victims to Bharatpur Hospital.

The highway closure has created a massive transportation crisis, with an estimated 3,000 vehicles stranded on both sides of the blockage. The Prithvi Highway is the primary overland route connecting Kathmandu with Pokhara, Chitwan, and the western regions of Nepal, carrying approximately 10,000 vehicles daily. Tourism operators in Pokhara have reported widespread trip cancellations, while supply chains for essential goods including fuel and food grains to the Kathmandu Valley face severe disruption. The Department of Roads has advised travelers to use the alternative Tribhuvan Highway via Hetauda, though that route adds approximately seven hours to the journey.

Geologists from the Department of Mines and Geology who assessed the site warn that the hillside remains highly unstable and that further landslides are likely given the forecast of continued rainfall over the next 48 hours. Full clearance of the highway could take five to seven days under favorable conditions. The government has activated emergency food and fuel reserves in the Kathmandu Valley to prevent shortages. Transport entrepreneurs have demanded that the long-delayed Kathmandu-Tarai fast track and the Pokhara-Mugling highway expansion be prioritized, arguing that Nepal's dependence on a single fragile highway corridor is a chronic national vulnerability.