5 deaths reported in Nepal twin bus tragedy, Indian nationals among victims

There were 24 people, including seven Indian nationals, on board a bus heading towards Kathmandu from Birgunj and another bus heading to Gaur from Kathmandu was carrying 30 local people

Rescuers in Nepal on Sunday found the body of another person who went missing when two buses were swept into a swollen river by a mudslide last week in Chitwan district, police said, taking the death toll to five, including that of three Indians.

The rescue team on Sunday found the fifth body at Gaindakot-7 while searching for passengers after two buses carrying 65 passengers, including seven Indians, went missing in the flooded Trishuli River on Friday.

The landslide happened in the Simaltal area along the Narayanghat-Mugling road in Chitwan district. Three people swam to safety soon after the incident.

So far only five bodies, including that of three Indians, have been recovered during the search operation, a police spokesperson said.

Two more bodies of Indian nationals have been recovered after the dead body of Rishipal Shah, 28, was recovered from the accident site earlier on Saturday.

Shah was originally from the Rajmunuwa area of Bihar's Motihari city and used to live and work in Nepal, My Republica quoted his brother as saying.

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

There were seven Indian nationals and 17 Nepalese in the bus heading towards Kathmandu from Birgunj.

There were 30 people in another bus heading towards Rautahat from Kathmandu.

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

More than 500 security personnel including Nepal Army and Nepal Police personnel were mobilised for the past three days to carry out search operations.

However, the 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, the MyRepublica news portal reported.

The APF said although the volume of water in the river was high, the search operation was ongoing. The security personnel have been carrying out the search using drone cameras, sonar cameras and other equipment.

DSP Shailendra Thapa, co-spokesperson of APF, said: "All possible locations will be searched and we will put all our best efforts into search and rescue."

Chitwan Chief District Officer Indradev Yadav said a large number of security personnel have been mobilised for the search being carried out in the incident site i.e. Simaltal and along the Narayani River downstream.

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

Evidence suggests that maximum temperatures in Nepal are rising faster, at 0.056 degrees Celsius a year, compared to the global average rise of 0.03 degrees Celsius a year, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

Experts say extreme weather events-excessive rainfall in a short period, continuous rains for several days after the monsoon, dry spells, droughts, below-average precipitation, and above-normal winter temperatures-have become more frequent in Nepal.