KATHMANDU – Rescuers in Nepal have recovered a total of 11 bodies from the river that two buses full of people were swept into by a landslide, officials said Monday.
Rescuers found the bodies in different spots along the riverbanks as they searched for the missing buses and some 50 people who were on board.
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Government administrator Khima Nanda Bhusal said seven bodies were identified and relatives contacted. Three of the dead are Indians and the remaining four are Nepali nationals.
He said four more bodies were also recovered from the river, but because they haven't been identified, it was unclear if they had been on board the buses.
“We will continue the search as long as it is needed and have no plans to give up. We will work until all of them are found,” he said.
The buses were on the key highway connecting Nepal’s capital to southern parts of the country when they were swept away Friday morning near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Kathmandu. Three people were ejected from the buses and were being treated in a nearby hospital.
The first body was recovered Sunday some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from where the buses fell. Other bodies were recovered from as far as near the border with India. Two of them were found in Tribeni, more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the landslide site, officials said.
Relatives of those missing gathered on the river seeking information as rescuers from the security forces used magnets, scuba diving equipment and underwater sonar imaging devices for the search.
Nepal’s rivers generally are fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.
Weather conditions improved Saturday and search teams were able to cover more ground in the hunt for the missing buses and passengers. Heavy equipment cleared much of the landslide from the highway, making it easier to reach the area as rescuers expanded their scope toward the southern region from where the first body was found, Bhusal said.
Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country.
The government imposed a ban on passenger buses traveling at night in the areas where weather warnings are posted, according to the Home Ministry.