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Nepal: Over 50 missing after landslide sweeps away buses

July 12, 2024

Three people were found and search and rescue teams are scouring an area where two buses were swept into a swollen river. Police say that more than 50 people have yet to be found.

https://p.dw.com/p/4iCJs
Rescuers search for survivors in river Trishuli in Simaltar on July 12, 2024
The landslide was triggered by heavy monsoon rainsImage: Rajesh Ghimire/AFP/ via Getty Images

A landslide triggered by heavy rain in Nepal, swept two buses into a river on Friday, leaving more than 50 people missing, according to authorities. 

Residents found three people who managed to escape from the crash and swim to shore and brought them to a local hospital for treatment. 

Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane told parliament 51 passengers were missing and more than 500 rescue personnel have been assigned to the search operation.

Police said the incident took place in Chitwan district, about 86 kilometers (53 miles) west of Kathmandu, and that a third bus was hit by another landslide on Friday morning a short distance away on the same stretch of road, killing the driver.

Rescuers on land and in a inflatable boat look for the survivors after two buses were swept by a landslide off the highway and into a swollen river near Simaltal
Authorities said they did not find any traces of the buses, which were likely submerged and swept downstreamImage: Nepal Armed Police Force/AP Photo/picture alliance

What authorities have said

Search and rescue personnel were at the site looking for additional survivors, according to local authorities.

"There were 41 people in the bus traveling from Kathmandu to Gaur, and 24 people in the bus traveling from Birgunj to Kathmandu. Both the buses and the passengers are missing in Trishuli River," police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki said.

Another police official, Khimananda Bhusal, said it was unclear exactly how many people were in the buses.

"We are not sure of the total number because the buses could have picked up others on the road," he said. "The river has swollen and no one else has been found yet."

Nepal's prime minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, expressed sadness over the accident in a post on social media platform X.

"I direct all agencies of the government, including the home administration, to search for and effectively rescue the passengers," he said.

In the Kaski district, 150 kilometers west of the capital, police said 10 people died when a landslide swept away three houses.

Nepal's topography and network of river systems make it highly susceptible to disasters, a situation that is likely to be exacerbated by climate change.

Buses pictured traveling along a mountain pass in Nepal in 2023
Fatal road incidents are not uncommon in Nepal with road construction and maintenance among some of the challenges drivers faceImage: Michael Runkel/robertharding/picture alliance

kb/sms (Reuters, AFP, AP)