More than 60 missing after Nepal landslide sweeps two buses into river
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The accident took place along the Narayanghat-Mugling highway, around 100km west of the capital Kathmandu.
PHOTO: DRJAIN21/X
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KATHMANDU – More than 60 people are missing in Nepal after a landslide triggered by heavy rain swept two buses off a highway and into a river on July 12, the authorities said.
Dozens of search and rescue personnel were combing the site for survivors of the accident in the central district of Chitwan, district official Khimananda Bhusal told AFP.
Mr Bhusal said the buses were carrying at least 66 people between them. Three passengers had been able to escape before they crashed into the waterway and were now being treated in hospital.
“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.”
The accident took place along the Narayanghat-Mugling highway, around 100km west of the capital Kathmandu at 3.30am local time (5.45am Singapore time) on July 12.
One bus was heading from Kathmandu to Gaur in Rautahat district in southern Nepal and the other was en route to Kathmandu from southern Birgunj city.
A driver was killed in a separate accident on the same road after a boulder hit his bus. He died while he was being treated at a hospital.
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.
Deadly crashes are relatively common in the Himalayan nation because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
Nearly 2,400 people lost their lives on Nepal’s roads in the 12 months to April, according to government figures.
Twelve people were killed and 24 injured in an accident in January when a bus heading to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj city fell into a river.
Road travel becomes deadlier during the annual monsoon season as the rain triggers landslides and floods across the mountainous republic.
Monsoon rain across South Asia from June to September offers respite from the summer heat and is crucial for replenishing water supplies, but also brings widespread death and destruction.
The rainfall is hard to forecast and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.
Floods, landslides and lightning strikes have killed 88 people across the country since the monsoon began in June, according to police figures. AFP
