KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A landslide sent two passenger buses carrying greater than 50 people aboard right into a flooded river in central Nepal early Friday, while persistent rain and more landslides complicated rescue efforts.
Three survivors apparently managed to swim to safety, but by late morning rescuers had found no sign of the buses, which were likely submerged and drifted downstream into the Trishuli River. Nepal's rivers are generally fast-flowing resulting from the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon rains in recent days have swollen the waterways and turned the water a murky brown, making it even tougher to identify the wreckage.
Interior Minister Rabi Lamichhane told parliament that 51 passengers were missing and that greater than 500 rescue employees had been assigned to the search operation.
In other parts of the country, 17 people have died and three others injured in landslides in various districts prior to now 24 hours, he said.
The buses were on the essential road connecting the capital with southern Nepal after they were washed away near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers west of Kathmandu, at around 3 a.m.
Further landslides blocked access routes to the world at several places, government official Khima Nanada Bhusal said. Additional rescue and security forces were dispatched to help within the rescue efforts. Police and armed forces personnel searched the location using rubber boats. According to Chitwan district police, divers with scuba diving equipment were also dispatched.
The three survivors are being treated in hospital, Bhusal said. They reportedly jumped out of the bus and swam to the shore, where they were found by locals and brought to a close-by hospital.
A 3rd bus was hit by a landslide further along the identical highway on Friday morning. Bhusal said the motive force had died, nevertheless it was not clear if there have been every other casualties.
Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed sadness on the news and expressed concern over the recent floods and landslides. In a post on social media platform X, he added that several government agencies were looking for the missing people.
A landslide buried a hut and killed a family of seven near the resort town of Pokhara on Thursday night. The family was sleeping when the landslide destroyed their hut and damaged three other houses nearby.
From June to September, Nepal's monsoon season brings heavy rainfall, which regularly triggers landslides within the mountainous Himalayan state.
Meanwhile, in accordance with the Interior Ministry, the federal government has also imposed a ban on bus passengers traveling at night to areas for which weather warnings have been issued.
AP staffer Yunish Gurung contributed from Pokhara, Nepal.
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