Nepal retrieves more bodies from buses swept away by landslide

Kathmandu - Nepali search teams retrieved more bodies on July 14 of the roughly 50 people missing after a landslide triggered by torrential rains swept two buses into a fast-flowing river.

Over 300 officers, including divers, were scouring the river for passengers and the two buses themselves, said Mr Kumar Neupane, spokesperson for Nepal’s armed police unit.

Other teams on boats were using sensor equipment to search the murky water.

Grieving relatives waited on the banks in shock.

“It’s been three days I have been here, but my grandparents’ bodies have not been found,” said Mr Khurseed Alam, 23.

The force of

July 12’s landslide

in central Chitwan district pushed the vehicles over concrete crash barriers and down a steep embankment, at least 30 metres from the road.

“One body has been found about 55km from the accident site,” Mr Kumar told AFP.

District official Khimananda Bhusal told AFP that roughly 50 people remained unaccounted for, revising down the number of missing from the 63 reported by the authorities on July 12.

“It is hard to confirm the total number because we don’t know if the buses stopped to add or remove passengers along the way,” he said.

Dozens of rescuers spent hours struggling to comb the raging Trishuli river with rafts, sensor equipment and dive teams to find any trace of the passengers or the vehicles.

Fierce currents made worse by this week’s torrential downpours have hampered their efforts so far.

“We will employ all our abilities for search and rescue despite the water levels, current and the water’s muddiness,” Chitwan district chief Indra Dev Yadav told AFP.

The accident happened before dawn on July 12 along the Narayanghat-Mugling highway, around 100km west of Kathmandu.

One bus was heading from the capital to Gaur in Rautahat district in southern Nepal, and the other was en route to Kathmandu from southern Birgunj.

A driver was killed in a separate accident on the same road after a boulder hit his bus. He died as he was being treated at a hospital.

Deadly crashes are common in the Himalayan republic because of poorly constructed 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 fell into a river.

Road travel becomes deadlier during the annual monsoon season as rains trigger landslides and floods across the mountainous country.

Monsoon rains across South Asia from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies, but also bring 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