KATHMANDU: Sixteen days after the tragic incident at Simaltal, 38 passengers remain missing.
On July 12, two buses were swept into the Trishuli River by a landslide along the Narayangadh-Muglin road section in Bharatpur Metropolis-29.
Despite efforts, including a 12-member underwater rescue team from India, no traces of the buses or missing passengers have been found.
The team, from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), arrived at the request of the Nepal government and conducted a search operation starting July 20.
After a weeklong search yielded no results, the team returned to India on Sunday.
Chief District Officer of Chitwan, Indra Dev Yadav, stated that the Indian team suggested the missing buses might be located somewhere between Simaltal and Gaighat, a 3.5-kilometer stretch.
However, they could not confirm the exact location. The Nepali team continues the search based on these estimations.
The search operation has been challenging due to the river’s depth and strong currents. Of the 24 bodies recovered after the disaster, only 18 have been identified.
The buses involved were traveling to Kathmandu from Birgunj and rerouting to Gaur from Kathmandu.
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