Nepalese soldiers successfully unblocked a river dammed by a landslide that was threatening hundreds of villages downstream, dpa cited authorities as saying .
The landslide buried a village, killing 156 people, and dammed up the Sunkoshi River in the central district of Sindupalchowk on August 2.
The growing reservoir behind the mud dam posed a safety risk downstream as far as northern India if it burst the banks, officials said.
"Nepal army personnel digging a canal in the natural dam for the last 25 days made a path for the blocked river to flow out," chief district officer Gopal Parajuli said.
He said the water level behind the mud dam had already gone down by more than 14 metres.