CHITWAN, July 20: A 12-member team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from India has arrived in Chitwan to assist in the search for passengers who were swept away by a landslide into the Trishuli River at Simaltal on the Narayanghat-Mugling road section.

The team entered Chitwan at 12:30 PM today, equipped with specialized gear for the operation. Chief District Officer of Chitwan, Indradev Yadav, briefed the team on the situation and directed them to the incident site.

The NDRF team, which includes four divers and three sonar cameras, will conduct the search for seven days. They arrived in Rupandehi on Friday before proceeding to Chitwan. 

NDRF DC Kunal Tiwari assured that the search operation will proceed smoothly. He said that there are similarities between the geographical environments and river channels in Nepal and India. “We have extensive experience in such operations and will do our utmost to locate the missing passengers,” Tiwari said.

So far, 23 bodies have been recovered from the river, with 15 of them identified. The two missing buses involved in the incident—Angel Deluxe, traveling from Birganj to Kathmandu and Ganpati Deluxe, traveling from Kathmandu to Gaur in Rautahat—fell into the Trishuli River following the landslide. Out of the 65 passengers on both buses, three survived by swimming.

Nepal requested India's assistance after the buses could not be located, leading to the deployment of the NDRF team in Chitwan.

 
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