62 go missing in Trishuli after landslide hits 2 buses

By Basanta Parajuli,Narayangadh, July 13: At least 62 passengers went missing after two buses were swept away by a landslide at Simaltal along the Narayangadh-Mugling road section on Friday morning. 

The two-night buses have also gone missing in the Trishuli River. Three passengers managed to save themselves by swimming. 

One of the buses belonging to Ganapati Deluxe Travel with registration number Bagmati Province 001 Kha 2495, was heading to Gaur, Rautahat, from Kathmandu while another belonging to Angels Travels with number Bagmati Province 03-006 Kha-1516, was going to Kathmandu from Birgunj.

In another landslide in Chitwan, a bus driver died after he was hit by a rock. 

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Bheshraj Rimal of the Chitwan District Police Office, the landslide occurred at around 3:30 am on Friday. 

The bus that left for Gaur from Kathmandu was carrying 41 passengers while 24 passengers were in the bus that left Birgunj for Kathmandu.

 While three passengers of the bus heading to Gaur survived by jumping, 62, including the drivers and bus owners are still missing.  

The survivors were identified as Nandan Das from Rautahat, Jugeshwar Raya Yadav from Garuda-9, Rautahat, and Saroj Gupta from Rautahat, DSP Rimal said. 

Nandan Das, travelling from Kathmandu to Rautahat, recounted, “We were watching a movie when the bus tumbled into the Trishuli River.” He added, “We did not know where to go but slowly swam to the riverbank and survived.”

Das is currently receiving treatment at Chitwan Medical College and is in stable condition. He explained, “While swimming at night, I climbed onto a rock and held onto the bushes to climb up the hill and arrived on the road. I asked another bus driver for help, who then called the police. They brought me to the hospital.”

Das expressed his sorrow, saying, 

“After the bus flipped, everyone was shouting for help.”

Jugeshwar Raya Yadav, who also swam to safety, mentioned, “I was travelling with my five family members, but only I managed to survive.” He said he was in Kathmandu for the treatment of his family members for the past six days and was returning to his hometown along with his elder daughter, son,  granddaughter and grandson. 

The rescue and search operations are going on by deploying a large number of personnel from the Nepali Army, police and the Armed Police Force. 

The water level in the river is high, making it difficult to locate the buses, although some parts have been found on the riverbank. Deep divers from the Nepali Army, and the Armed Police Force have also been deployed to assist in the search, said DSP Rimal. 

“We are continuing the search for the missing passengers and the buses using rafting and divers,” said DSP Rimal. “We are ready to adopt any new technology necessary to locate the vehicles and passengers in the river.”

Among the passengers on the bus from Kathmandu to Gaur, Nandan Das, who saved himself, failed to save his daughter, grandson, granddaughter and son. 

Other missing passengers include Amrita and Harishchandra with two others, Shambhu Nabin with four others, Raju Patel, Prince Jaiswal, Sikendra, Wakil Khan, Om, Rajkishore, an unidentified person, Shailendra, Firoz Rahumiya, bus owner Rakesh Jaiswal, the bus’s co-driver, and driver Kishor Kumar Chaudhary.

The passengers missing from the Birgunj-Kathmandu route bus include Zaher Mehta from Birgunj, Rajendra KC, bus’s co-driver Chaudhary, whose name is yet to confirm, Prakash with two others, Arvind Dubey, Harindra Pandit, Pramindra, Hard Narayan Raut with three others, Salin Miyan with two others, Raizul Alam with two others, Kuldeep with two others, Ansari with two others, Indian citizens Santosh Thakur, Surendra Sah, Aditya Miyan, Sunil, and Sahnuwaz Alam.

Most of the passengers on the buses hail from Parsa, Rautahat, and India, said police.  

In another incident, a rock fell after a landslide in Bharatpur Metropolis-29 at Satara Kilo, killed another bus driver on Thursday night. Meghnath Bk, a 36-year-old from Sunawal Municipality-4, Nawalparasi, was driving the bus with registration number Lu 2 Kha 6566 from Butwal to Kathmandu when the rock struck the bus. The bus was heading towards Kathmandu from Butwal. 

DSP Rimal said that BK died during treatment in Bharatpur.