Twin Bus Accident: 15 bodies retrieved so far; eight identified

KATHMANDU: Rescue workers have so far recovered 15 bodies of passengers on board the two buses that were swept into Trishuli River by a landslide in Simaltal on the Muglin-Narayanghat road on Friday morning.

According to the Armed Police Force (APF), eight of the deceased, including three Indian nationals, have been identified as of Tuesday morning.

Rishipal Shah (28) of Sitamarhi, and Jay Prakash Thakur (30) and Sajad Ansari of Bettiah are the Indian nationals identified so far.

Likewise, the bodies of Bikash Pariyar (22) from Madi-1 of Chitwan, Ramit Kumar Majhi (19) from Barthahawa-3 of Sarlahi, Sudip BK (23) from Bharatpur-22 of Chitwan, Parmananda Pandit (43) from Bishrampur-6 of Bara, and Firoz Rahup Miya (17) from Rautahat of Nepal have also been identified.

DSP Shailendra Thapa, the joint spokesperson for the APF, said relatives have received the bodies for last rites.

The identity of six bodies, including one of a woman, has not been confirmed yet. The bodies were recovered from the river banks in Golaghat, Salbas and Sisawar of Chitwan, and Gaidakot, Bhutaha and Triveni barrage of Nawalpur district.

Two moving buses – one coming to Kathmandu from Birgunj and the other heading to Gaur from Kathmandu – were swept into the rain-swollen Trishuli River by landslide debris at around 3:30 am on Friday. According to police, there were 65 passengers in the two buses. Three of them managed to swim to safety. “Of them, Jugeshwar Raya Yadav and Saroj Kumar Gupta of Rautahat have returned home after treatment, while Nanda Das of Banahi-10 of Rautahat is undergoing treatment,” Thapa added.

APF team searching for the passengers near Gandak Barrage [Video]