Nepal: More than 50 missing after landslide triggered by heavy monsoon rain sweeps two buses into river
Additional forces, including the military and police, have been sent to the area to aid rescuers whose efforts are being impacted by continuous rainfall.
Friday 12 July 2024 22:40, UK
Dozens of people are missing after two buses were swept into a swollen river in Nepal by a landslide amid torrential monsoon rain.
The buses were swept off a road and into the Trishuli River near Simaltal, about 74 miles west of the capital Kathmandu, at around 3am.
The vehicles were travelling on the key highway connecting the capital to southern parts of Nepal.
Rabi Lamichhane, the country's home minister, told its parliament 51 passengers were unaccounted for and more than 500 rescue personnel have been assigned to the search operation.
Earlier, 62 people were reported missing but this number was revised down after passenger details were collected from bus operators.
Three passengers were rescued and are receiving hospital treatment, government administrator Khima Nanada Bhusal said.
The survivors jumped out of a bus and swam to the riverbank where they were rescued by local residents who took them to a nearby hospital.
Seven Indian nationals were among the missing passengers, a district official said.
The local authorities said they would resume the search in the morning, which had already been hampered by continuous rain and more landslides.
A third bus was hit by another landslide on Friday morning a short distance away on the same highway. The driver of the vehicle was killed.
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Elsewhere in the country, 17 people have died and three more were injured due to landslides in different districts in the 24 hours before the buses were swept away, home minister Mr Lamichhane added.
The deaths included 11 people killed when landslides washed away three houses in Kaski district, 93 miles west of the capital, police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki said.
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At least 91 people have been killed since mid-June as torrential monsoon rainfall continues to trigger landslides and flooding across the mountainous Himalayan country.
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In a social media post on Friday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was deeply saddened by the incidents, while the government also announced plans to ban night bus operations in places with poor weather forecasting facilities.