Landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Nepal have engulfed scores of homes, killing eight people and leaving five missing, officials said Tuesday.

The dead included three children aged between three months and 12 years, Surendra Bahadur Shah, a senior police official in western Nepal, told AFP.

The victims died when the landslides on Sunday and Monday hit their homes.

Police and soldiers have been sent to dig out a family of five, included two children, who are believed trapped under debris after a landslide in Dolakha district in Nepal's northeast, police said.

"We have categorised the five as missing but there's a very slim chance of their survival," said local police officer Prakash Adhikari.

Hundreds of people die each year from floods and landslides during Nepal's monsoon season, which starts in June and ends in September.

Nepal's home ministry said the death toll from landslides and floods has hit 71 so far this season.