At least 23 people are reported to have died when a makeshift church building collapsed in eastern Nepal.

At least another 60 people were injured in the incident, in the town of Dharan, about 400km (240 miles) south-east of the capital, Kathmandu.

Police official Arjun Khadka told the AP news agency the victims had been staying in the building while they attended a Christian conference.

Nepal's home ministry said a temporary wall had collapsed on them.

Ministry spokesman Ekmani Nepal told the AFP news agency 23 people had been killed instantly and around 60 were injured.

Some of the victims are believed to have been children.

Police inspector Mohan Bikram Dahal told AFP the victims were on the ground floor of the temporary building preparing to go to sleep when the collapse happened.

"The wall was made of bamboo and it could not withstand the weight of the people in the church," he said.

More than 1,500 people are thought to have been inside the building at the time.