A massive landslide in Central Nepal swept two buses, carrying around 63 passengers, into the Trishuli River on Friday morning. The landslide, triggered by incessant rains, occurred on the Narayangadh-Muglin road of Madan-Ashrit Highway at around 3:30 am.
As per authorities, a search operation is underway to find the missing passengers, but the rescue mission is being hampered by incessant rainfall in the area.
"As per the preliminary information both the buses were carrying a total of 63 people including the bus drivers. The landslide swept the buses at around 3:30 am. We are at the incident site and a search operation is underway. Incessant rain is hampering our efforts to search for the missing buses,” Indradev Yadav, Chief District Officer, Chitwan told news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has asked all agencies, including the home administration of the country, to search for and effectively rescue the missing passengers.
Expressing his grief over the incident, Dahal in a post on X, said, "I am deeply saddened by the reports of about five dozen passengers that are missing when bus was washed away by a landslide on the Narayangadh-Muglin road section and the loss of properties due to floods and landslides in different parts of the country. I direct all agencies of the government, including the home administration, to search and effectively rescue the passengers."
Meanwhile, all the flights from Kathmandu to Bharatpur in the Chitwan district have been cancelled for the day as the weather remains inclement.
Parts of Nepal have been receiving heavy rainfall since last week, prompting disaster authorities in the Himalayan nation to warn of flash floods in multiple rivers. There have been reports of inundation in several districts of lowland areas bordering India. Last month, around 14 people were killed in Nepal in ferocious storms that brought landslides, lightning, and flooding.