Rescuers in Nepal hunt for two buses carrying over 50 passengers swept into river

International Desk: Searchers scoured a mountain river and surrounding areas Saturday for two buses carrying more than 50 people that were swept away by a landslide a day earlier. Police said they had not found any traces of the buses or the people on board in the Trishuli river that was swollen by continuous rainfall over the past few days.

Weather conditions improved Saturday and searchers were able to cover more ground in the hunt for the missing buses and passengers. Heavy equipment had cleared much of the landslides from the highway, making it easier for more searchers to reach the area. Soldiers and police teams were using rubber rafts, divers and sensor equipments to try to locate the buses, which were pushed off the highway into the river by a landslide.

Three people were ejected from the buses and were being treated in a nearby hospital. The buses were likely submerged and swept downstream in the Trishuli. Nepal’s rivers generally are fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned their waters murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.

The buses were on the key highway connecting Nepal’s capital to southern parts of the country when they were swept away Friday morning near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Kathmandu.
A third bus was hit by another landslide Friday morning a short distance away on the same highway. Authorities said the driver was killed but it was not clear if there were any other casualties.

Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country. The government has imposed a ban on passenger buses travelling at night in the areas where weather warnings are posted, according to the Home Ministry.