At least 60 people were carried into a swollen river in central Nepal early Friday when a landslide swept two passenger buses off the road. Continuous rain and additional landslides were complicating rescue efforts.
Three individuals apparently swam to safety, but by late morning, rescuers had not discovered any sign of the buses, which were likely submerged and carried downstream in the Trishuli River.
Nepal’s rivers are typically fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain, and heavy monsoon rains over the past few days have swollen the waterways, turning them murky brown and making it more challenging to locate the wreckage.
The buses were travelling on the main highway, linking the capital to southern Nepal when they were swept away around 3 a.m. near Simaltal, approximately 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Kathmandu.
Further landslides had blocked access routes to the area in several locations, according to government administrator Khima Nanada Bhusal. Additional rescuers and security forces were dispatched to assist with the rescue operations.
Police and army personnel were searching the river using rubber rafts, and divers equipped with scuba gear were also sent, according to Chitwan district police.
One bus had at least 24 passengers, while the other had at least 42, although more passengers could have boarded along the route, Bhusal stated.
The three survivors were being treated at the hospital, Bhusal mentioned, adding that they had reportedly jumped from the bus and swum to the banks, where locals found them and took them to a nearby hospital.
Another landslide hit a third bus on Friday morning a short distance away on the same highway. Bhusal reported that the driver was killed, but it was unclear if there were any other casualties.
Nepal’s Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, expressed his sorrow over the incident and voiced concern about the recent flooding and landslides.
He noted that several government agencies were searching for the missing, in a post on the social media platform X.
On Thursday night, a landslide buried a hut and killed a family of seven near the resort town of Pokhara. The family was asleep when the landslide destroyed their hut and damaged three additional houses nearby.
The monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often causing landslides in the mountainous Himalayan nation.
Nancy Mbamalu
Follow us on:
