Death toll rises to 5 in Nepal twin bus tragedy, Indian nationals among victims

Kathmandu: Rescuers in Nepal on Sunday found the body of a person who went missing when two buses were swept into a swollen river by a mudslide last week in Chitwan district, police said, taking the death toll to five, including that of an Indian.

The rescue team on Sunday found the fifth body at Gaindakot-7 while searching for passengers after two buses carrying 65 passengers, including seven Indians, went missing in the flooded Trishuli River on Friday.

The landslide happened in the Simaltal area along the Narayanghat-Mugling road in Chitwan district. Three people swam to safety soon after the incident.

So far only five bodies, including that of an Indian, have been recovered during the search operation, My Republica news portal quoted a police official as saying.

The identity of three dead, including the Indian national who carried an Indian Identity Card in his pocket, has been revealed while the bodies of two others are yet to be identified, the official added.

The first body from the buses was recovered on Saturday morning from 50 km away from the accident site. The deceased was identified as Rishi Pal Shahi, 40, from Bihar, police said.

The body was found half covered by sand in the Narayani River of Chitwan district, police said, adding that he was carrying an Indian ID.

The rescuers in the afternoon recovered two more dead bodies from the Gaindakot area in East Nawalparasi district, police said, adding that both the deceased were Nepali nationals who were missing in the accident.

They were passengers of the bus heading towards Kathmandu from Birgunj, they said.

Besides Shahi, the other missing Indian nationals were identified as Santosh Thakur, Surendra Sah, Adit Miyaan, Sunil, Shahnawaj Alam, and Ansari.

There were 24 people, including seven Indian nationals, on board a bus heading towards Kathmandu from Birgunj and another bus heading to Gaur from Kathmandu was carrying 30 local people. The two buses fell into the river as the landslide accompanied by muddy water, triggered by heavy rain, swept them away.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Chitwan District Police Office spokesperson Bhesh Raj Rijal, the deceased Indian national was a passenger of the bus which was heading to Gaur from Kathmandu, MyRepublica news portal reported.

Shahi was originally from the Rajmunuwa area of Bihar's Motihari city and used to live and work in Nepal, the report said, quoting his brother.

More than 500 security personnel, including from the Nepali Army and Nepal Police, along with deep divers were mobilised for the search operation, police said. The security personnel are also using motor boats and drones for the rescue operation, they said.

The Armed Police Force (APF) deployed a water drone to find the missing buses in the Trishuli River, the MyRepublica news portal reported.

The APF said although the volume of water in the river was high, the search operation was ongoing. The security personnel have been carrying out the search using drone cameras, sonar cameras and other equipment.

DSP Shailendra Thapa, co-spokesperson of APF, said: "All possible locations will be searched and we will put all our best efforts into search and rescue." Chitwan Chief District Officer Indradev Yadav said a large number of security personnel have been mobilised for the search being carried out in the incident site i.e. Simaltal and along the Narayani River downstream.

Nepal is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis and has witnessed multiple extreme weather events over the past decade and a half.

Evidence suggests that maximum temperatures in Nepal are rising faster, at 0.056 degrees Celsius a year, compared to the global average rise of 0.03 degrees Celsius a year, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

Experts say extreme weather events-excessive rainfall in a short period, continuous rains for several days after the monsoon, dry spells, droughts, below-average precipitation, and above-normal winter temperatures-have become more frequent in Nepal.