Nepal Army personnel look for survivors on July 13, 2024 after two buses were swept by a landslide off the highway and into a swollen river near Simaltal, about 120 km west of Kathmandu.
| Photo Credit: AP
The body of a 40-year-old Indian national working in Nepal was among three corpses recovered by rescuers on Saturday from the wreckage of two buses that were swept by a mudslide into a rain-swollen river with more than 50 passengers on Friday.
The two buses carrying 54 passengers, including seven Indians, went missing in the Trishuli in the landslips in Chitwan district on Friday. Three people swam to safety later.
The first body from the buses was recovered in the morning 50 km away from the accident site. The deceased was identified as Rishi Pal Shahi from India, the police said.
The rescuers in the afternoon recovered two more bodies from the Gaindakot area in East Nawalparasi district, the police said. They were passengers of the bus heading towards Kathmandu from Birgunj, they said. Besides Shahi, the other missing Indian nationals were identified as Santosh Thakur, Surendra Sah, Adit Miyaan, Sunil, Shahnawaj Alam, and Ansari.
There were 24 people including seven Indian nationals onboard a bus heading towards Kathmandu from Birgunj and another bus heading to Gaur from Kathmandu was carrying 30 local people. The two buses fell into the river as the landslip accompanied by muddy water, triggered by heavy rain, swept them away.
More than 500 security personnel, including from the Nepali Army and Nepal Police, along with deep divers were mobilised for the search operation, the police said.
