Kathmandu - At least five people were killed and four were missing after a landslide swept away seven houses in western Nepal, officials said Thursday.

The houses in the village of Amkot were buried by falling rock and mud late Wednesday after the Bajura district, about 450 kilometres west of Kathmandu, was hit with heavy monsoon rains.

"Rescue officials pulled out five bodies, but four people remain missing," said Hom Prasad Adhikari, the chief government administrator in the district.

More rescue personnel were dispatched from district headquarters but were facing difficulties in their work because of continuing rain and lack of access roads, Adhikari said.

"Hopes of finding survivors are remote," Adhikari said.

Landslides are common during Nepal's monsoon season, which runs from June to the end of September.

Many parts of the country receive as much as 80 per cent of their total annual rainfall during that time.

At least 40 people have now died in flash floods and landslides across Nepal since June. (dpa)