Two buses with 65 people on board missing in a river

Nepal army personnel carry out a search operation looking for the survivors after two buses were swept by a landslide off the highway and into a swollen river near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers west of the capital Kathmandu, Nepal, on July 13, 2024

There were 65 people on board the two buses that were pushed into a swollen river in Nepal, of which rescuers have been able to recover 14 bodies, authorities said Tuesday.

Eight of the bodies have been identified and are being handed over the relatives. Six of them were Indian nationals.

The two 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. The bodies were washed away down the Trishuli river as far as 100 kilometers (60 miles).

The Chitwan District Administration Office published a list with names and details of the 65 people who were on board. There were 38 people on one bus and 27 in another. Three people survived after being ejected from one of the buses.

Hundreds of rescuers from the police and army searched the river and downstream areas Tuesday but they have yet to find any trace of the two missing buses.

Nepal’s rivers are generally 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.

Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country.