KATHMANDU: The Armed Police Force (APF) has deployed a team of divers to search for a passenger bus and its missing occupants after the vehicle plunged into the Karnali River in Dailekh district.
The bus went missing after veering off the Karnali Highway at Sangetada in Chamunda Bindrasaini Municipality-7 on July 2 while travelling from Surkhet to Kalikot.
According to APF spokesperson Shailendra Thapa, a four-member diving team led by Police Inspector Prem Bahadur Tamang reached the accident site on Friday to continue the search operation.
The team is using specialized equipment, including sonar cameras and magnets, to locate the submerged vehicle and search the riverbed.
The passenger bus (Karnali Province 02-001 Kha 1055) reportedly fell around 600 to 700 metres into the Karnali River.
Immediately after the accident, six APF divers from the Armed Police Gulma in Dailekh, the Upper Karnali Hydropower Project Security Base, and the APF No. 6 Maheshwori Battalion Headquarters in Surkhet were mobilized for rescue efforts.
On the day of the incident, the body of a man was recovered from a cliff about 400 metres below the crash site.
The bus and the remaining passengers are still missing, and search operations are ongoing.
Comment