Nepal landslide bus tragedy: Families anguished as 11 more bodies recovered after being spotted by villagers, hope fades for survivors

Amid the aftermath of a tragic landslide in Nepal's Chitwan district last week, hopes of finding any more survivors look bleak as 11 more bodies have been recovered from the river, leaving families of the missing in anguish.

Reportedly, the bodies were spotted by villagers who informed the authorities following which the rescuers working as part of search operations recovered the bodies of 11 people.

Two passenger buses carrying 55 people, including seven Indians, were carried away into the rain-swollen Trishuli River at around 3:30 am local time on July 12. Three people were able to swim to safety soon after the incident.

The flooded Trishuli in Nepal flows all the way to India. One of the 11 bodies was found as far as 100 km from accident site.

The Trishuli River, which originates in Tibet flows through Nepal before eventually joining the Narayani River. The Narayani River, in turn, flows into India where it is known as the Gandak River.

The bodies will likely come afloat in India as the volume of water in the river remains high, a personnel of the Nepal Armed Police Force involved in the operation told Education Post, adding, that the attempt to look for survivors looks bleak.

Two more bodies of Indian nationals were recovered after the dead body of Rishipal Shah, 28, a resident of Bihar was recovered from the accident site earlier on July 13.

The bodies of Prakash Thakur, 30, and Sajad Ansari, 30, were recovered on July 14.

Out of the five bodies, two were Nepalese and three Indians, a police spokesperson said.

Both the buses were travelling from Kathmandu-bound Angel Deluxe bus and Ganapati Deluxe bus, en route to Gaur from Kathmandu, respectively. As many as 46 people still remain missing.

Three of the passengers on the Ganapati Deluxe bus had managed to escape after jumping out of the vehicle, according to media reports.

The search operations were relentlessly carried out for the past three days involving over 500 security personnel including Nepal Army and Nepal Police personnel. Despite continuous efforts, wreckage of the buses has not yet been located.

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

The security personnel have been carrying out the search using drone cameras, sonar cameras and other equipment, the APF said.

Chitwan Chief District Officer Indradev Yadav said search operations are being carried out in the incident site i.e. Simaltal and along the Narayani River downstream.

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

Rohit Wadhwaney in Kathmandu contributed to the story.