One more body found on Sunday morning as search and rescue operation resumed at 7 AM today to find whereabouts of missing buses and other passengers
KATHMANDU, July 14: Four bodies of the passengers who went missing after two buses were swept away by a sudden landslide into the Trishuli River have been found.
While three bodies were found in different locations on Saturday, another dead body was located near Golaghat on Sunday morning. The identity of the dead body found on Sunday morning is yet to be confirmed.
The District Administration Office, Chitwan, stated that the body was discovered on the bank of the Narayani River near Golaghat, located in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-28 of Chitwan, 50 km downstream from the Simaltal bus accident site.
Previously, the bodies of two men were found on the Narayani riverbank at Gairi in Gaindakot Municipality-7 around 3:30 PM on Friday, while another body was found on Saturday morning. The identities of all three bodies found after the bus accident in the Trishuli River have been revealed. They include two Nepali nationals and one Indian national.
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Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bed Bahadur Poudel at the District Police Office, Nawalpur, said that the bodies were found on the Narayani riverbank.
Local residents alerted the police about the first body of a man aged around 25 years. Shortly after, another body, about 20 years old, was found about 10 meters away from the first one, according to DSP Poudel.
One of the bodies has been identified as Ramit Kushar Majhi, 19, a resident of Sarlahi's Barhathwa Municipality Ward-3. His father, Rabindra Kushar Majhi, confirmed the identity. Ramit was a passenger on the Ganpati bus traveling from Kathmandu to Gaur in Rautahat. The second body is identified to be of Bikas Pariyar, 22. His body was identified by his brother Bijay Pariyar. Bikas was riding in a bus (Ba Pra 03-006 B 1516) which was en route to Kathmandu from Birgunj.
Earlier on Saturday morning, another body of a male was found in the Narayani River located in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-28, Chitwan, along with several documents. Based on these documents, the deceased was identified as Indian citizen Rishi Paul Shah. An ATM card from Global IME Bank in the name of Rishi Paul Shah was found in the wallet. His brother, Satya Pal Shah, confirmed the identity, stating that Rishi Paul Shah, 28, lived and worked in Nepal.
Originally from Rajmunuwa, Motihari, India, Rishi had boarded the bus from Jorpati in Kathmandu to travel to Gaur. The District Administration Office, Chitwan, confirmed the identity based on a ration card found with the body.
The Armed Police Force (APF) used water drones and sonar technology to search for the missing bus and passengers. DSP Shailendra Thapa, deputy spokesperson of the APF, stated that a search operation was resumed on Saturday morning using a sonar camera through pipeline inspection. He added that the bodies found on the Narayani River bank could be of passengers from the buses swept into the Trishuli River at Simaltal on Friday.
"A team including 9 divers from the Armed Police Force has been mobilized to search for the missing buses," said DSP Thapa. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 28 divers, including those from the Nepali Army, have been mobilized, with additional search operations conducted by Nepal Army and Nepal Police personnel.
It is said that around 65 people were on board the buses. Three of them managed to save their lives by swimming, while three others were found dead on Saturday. Two of the deceased have been identified, and one remains unidentified. There is no sign of other passengers or the buses at the incident site.
Two buses that went missing in the Trishuli River after being swept away by a landslide have yet to be found. The search operation was suspended on Saturday evening and resumed at 7 AM on Sunday, said Assistant Chief District Officer, Chitwan, Khimanand Bhusal. "So far, the bodies of three people have been found. We have suspended the search as it is already evening. The search resumed again from 7AM today," Bhusal told Republica.
The Nepal Army's Rasauli-based disaster management unit and trained security personnel from the Armed Police Force's Kurintar Disaster Management Training School have searched the area with available technology, but no further progress has been made so far. The search for the two deluxe buses that fell into the Trishuli River has begun today using magnets.
On Friday morning, a landslide swept away the bus (Ba Pra 03-006 B 1516) traveling from Birgunj to Kathmandu and another bus (Ba Pra 03-011 B 2595) en route to Kathmandu from Gaur into the Trishuli River at Simaltal, along the Narayanghat-Mugling road in Bharatpur Municipal-29, Chitwan.
With inputs from Republica’s correspondent Basanta Dhungana in Chitwan and RSS reports.
