Nepalese authorities temporarily halted their search for at least 63 missing people on Friday night after a landslide triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept two buses off a highway and into a river.
Dozens of rescuers had been searching for survivors along a remote stretch of road in the central district of Chitwan before dusk forced them to abandon their efforts.
“It is dark now and it is not possible to continue the operation today,” said Kumar Neupane, spokesman for the Nepal Armed Police Force. AFP.
“The search will resume tomorrow morning.”
District official Khimananda Bhusal said AFP The buses were carrying at least 66 people in total, but three passengers managed to escape when they crashed into the Trishuli river.
“We are not sure of the total number because buses could have picked up other people on the road,” he said. “The river has risen and they have not found anyone else yet.”
Bhusal said the survivors were out of danger and one had been discharged from hospital.
One said AFP From his hospital bed, he said his two children and two grandchildren were aboard one of the buses when it fell into the water.
“My son, my daughter, my grandchildren, all four of them are gone… I am the only one here,” said Jugeshwor Ray Yadav, 45. AFP.
“I swallowed some water, but somehow I swam. I swam and then I grabbed onto a branch on the hill,” he said.
The force of the landslide pushed the buses over concrete barriers and down a steep embankment into the river, at least 30 meters (100 feet) from the road.
Search and rescue teams on the riverbank spent the day struggling to clear muddy waters due to strong currents aggravated by rains.
Hours after the search began, no trace of the vehicles or their remaining occupants had yet been discovered.
“Teams are trying but the river is very strong. They haven't found anything,” said Neupane, a police spokesman. AFP.
The accident took place before dawn on the Narayanghat-Mugling highway, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu.
One bus was heading from Kathmandu to Gaur in Rautahat district in southern Nepal, and the other was heading to the capital from Birgunj south.
In another accident on the same road, a driver was killed when a rock hit his bus. He died while receiving treatment in a hospital.
'Deeply saddened'
Outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was “deeply saddened” by the accident in a post on social media platform X.
“I order all government agencies, including the interior administration, to effectively search and rescue the passengers,” he said.
Fatal accidents are common in the Himalayan republic due to poorly constructed roads, poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
Nearly 2,400 people have died on Nepal's roads in the 12 months through April, according to government figures.
Twelve people were killed and 24 injured in an accident in January when a bus heading to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj fell into a river.
Road travel becomes more deadly during the annual monsoon season as rains trigger landslides and flooding across the mountainous country.
Monsoon rains in South Asia between June and September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial for replenishing water supplies, but they also cause widespread death and destruction.
Rainfall is difficult to forecast and varies widely, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.
Floods, landslides and lightning have killed 88 people across the country since the monsoon began in June, according to police figures.
