Himal Press 
SURKHET: Karnali Chief Minister Yam Lal Kadel has directed authorities to deploy helicopters, if necessary, for the search of passengers of a minibus that plunged into the Karnali River on Thursday morning.
During discussions with provincial chiefs of the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department on Friday, Kandel urged them to intensify the search operation by mobilizing all available resources. While appreciating the efforts made so far by security agencies, Kandel said helicopters should also be used if required.
He also instructed officials to expand the search area from Dailekh to the Indian border, from where Karnali enters India.
During the meeting, Armed Police Force (APF) DIG Krishna Raj Pathak said divers had already been deployed at the incident site. He added that additional divers from Kurintar of Chitwan are also joining the rescue team.
Similarly, Nepal Police DIG Jayaraj Sapkota briefed the Chief Minister that muddy water, strong currents and difficult terrain were creating challenges to the search operation. He added that all security agencies were jointly mobilizing available manpower and resources to continue the search.
The Nepali Army personnel has also been deployed for the search operation. Drone cameras have also been deployed to scan possible locations.
The minibus heading to Kalikot from Surkhet veered off the Karnali Highway at Chamunda Bindrasaini of Daielkh and fell some 400 meters into the Karnali River on Thursday morning. A body was recovered from the cliff, while the vehicle and the remaining passengers are still missing.
