Bodies of five passengers recovered from Trishuli

KATHMANDU: Five bodies have been recovered from the Trishuli River following a landslide that swept away two buses early Friday morning. Three of the bodies have been identified.

Chitwan Chief District Officer (CDO) Indradev Yadav informed RSS news agency that the bodies of Bikash Pariyar (22) from Madi Municipality-1, Chitwan; Ramit Kumar Majhi (19) from Barhathawa Municipality-3, Sarlahi; and Rishipal Sah (28) from Sitamarhi, India have been identified.

The incident occurred at 3:30 am on Friday when two buses were caught in a landslide at Simaltaal in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29. One bus was en route to Rautahat from Kathmandu, while the other was traveling to Kathmandu from Birgunj. Both vehicles plunged into the rain-swollen Trishuli River.

Hundreds of security personnel have been deployed to locate the buses in the river, but their efforts have been unsuccessful so far. More than 40 passengers from the two buses are still missing.

Police are unable to confirm the exact number of passengers on board, as buses often pick up additional travelers along the route after their initial passenger rosters are prepared at the departure points.