Excavation to search for wreckage of bus lost in Trishuli River continues for third day

By Amar Raj Naharki, Tanahun, Jan 13: Excavation work to recover the remains of a bus that has been missing in the Trishuli River for nearly a year and a half following the Simaltal Lake accident in Chitwan have continued for the third day on Tuesday.

A joint team of the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force (APF) has expedited the search operation for the bus wreckage that was discovered at the riverbank located at Dhundrangbesi, Anbukhaireni Rural Municipality-5, Tanahun District, on Sunday.

At least 51 people went missing after two passenger buses were swept away by a mudslide into the rain-swollen Trishuli River near Simaltal along the Narayanghat-Muglin road section at 3 AM on July 12, 2024.

A Kathmandu-bound Angel Deluxe Bus (Bagmati Province -03-006 Kha 15156) and a Ganapati Deluxe Bus (Bagmati Province -03-001 Kha 2495), en route to Gaur of Rautahat district from Kathmandu, were pushed into the river by the mudslide at around 3:30 am.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shrawan Kumar BK, since the bus is buried very deeply and is in a damaged condition, excavation will resume on Tuesday morning, taking technical precautions.

The remains of the bus, which even Indian divers could not find after a long search, were found on Sunday. It has been a challenge to extract the bus as many parts of it are buried in sand and filled with mud.

More than 50 security personnel from the Area Police Offices of Sarangghat and Anbukhaireni, as well as Chitwan and Tanahun, have been mobilized to the incident site.

Security forces believe that if the bus is fully excavated on Tuesday, some remains of the missing passengers or important evidence may be found.

BK said, "The bus is buried very deep in the riverbed, we are trying to pull it out safely.