Update: 24 hours later, status of around 50 passengers & buses swept into Trishuli River still unknown

KATHMANDU: The condition of at least 50 passengers in two buses who went missing in the Trishuli River after being washed away by a landslide on Friday in Simaltal located in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29 of Chitwan is still unknown.

The condition of the bus and passengers who were swept away by a landslide in Simaltal, 22 km northeast of Narayangadh Bazar on the road to Muglin, is still unknown even after 24 hours of the incident.

Three passengers managed to escape by jumping out of one of the buses.

The landslide carried away an Angel Transport bus, numbered Bagmati SState 03-006 Kha 1516, traveling from Birgunj to Kathmandu, and a Ganapati Deluxe bus, numbered 03-001 Kha 2495, traveling from Kathmandu to Rautahat.

Chief District Officer (CDO) of Chitwan, Indra Dev Yadav, reported that while the Angel Transport bus was said to have 24 passengers, details for only 17 have been obtained.

Similarly, the Ganapati Deluxe bus reportedly had 30 passengers, but only 26 have been identified.

Complete information regarding the exact number of passengers and their identities is still not available.

Rescue teams were deployed immediately after the incident, but it was only after 8 PM that divers from the Nepal Army and Armed Police Force (APF) joined the search efforts.

The APF had 12 divers and 70 personnel, while the Nepal Army had 5 divers and 55 personnel involved in the search.

However, due to the strong currents and flooding in the Trishuli River, divers have been unable to locate the submerged buses.

Rescue operations were halted on Friday evening around 6:45 PM but resumed early on Saturday.

Divers and personnel from the Nepal Army, APF, and Nepal Police are currently at the scene, continuing their search efforts.