60 missing in Nepal after 2 buses crash into river

Search for survivors continued Friday afternoon after two buses swept off a key highway into the Trishuli River in Nepal

The accident happened in the early hours of the day.

Little can be said about 60 passengers of the buses who are said to be missing but three others who swam to safety are on hospital admission.

Police sources said the buses were travelling on a highway connecting the capital, Kathmandu, to southern parts of Nepal when they were swept away near Simaltal, about 120 kilometres west of the capital.

Military and police operatives were involved in the search which was yet to yield anything by early Friday afternoon, as even the buses were yet to be located.

Local reports indicate that downpours in the past few days around that part of Nepal have swollen the waterways with dirty brown water, making it hard for rescuers to see their way around.

Reports have it that as it continued to rain, causing floods and landslides, a third bus was hit by a landslide in the later hours of Friday morning a short distance away on the same highway.

The driver of the said third bus was killed but not much else is reported about that particular bus.

Nepal’s Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has expressed sadness about the incidents, adding that he was concerned over recent floods and landslides in parts of the country.

Close to 100 people have been killed since the middle of last month in Nepal as heavy rains cause floods and landslides in the South Asian country of 31 million people.