KATHMANDU: Eight people were killed Saturday and three Russian tourists missing after a river burst its banks and swept away a village near one of Nepal's most popular Himalayan tourist destinations, police said.

"We have found the dead bodies of eight people at the Seti River. Some others, including three Russians, are missing," local police officer Shailesh Thapa told AFP by telephone.

Fast-flowing floodwaters from the swollen Seti River smashed into two buildings and a number of shacks in Kharapani village, in the shadow of Mount Annapurna, Thapa said.

Police had not yet been able to determine for sure the nationalities of the dead but they were probably Nepali, Thapa added.

"We are despatching a helicopter to inspect the incident site," Thapa said.

Three injured people have been taken to hospital in Pokhara, a tourist hub about 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, police said.