More than 60 people missing after two buses swept into river in Nepal
Al Jazeera
Vehicles swept off highway by landslide caused by rains, with three survivors rescued after they swam to safety.
Two buses carrying more than 60 people were swept by a landslide into a rain-swollen river in Nepal, with three survivors rescued after swimming to safety.
The vehicles, carrying at least 65 people between them, were swept off the Narayanghat-Mugling highway near Simaltar, about 120km (75 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, early on Friday.
Government administrator Khima Nanada Bhusal said the three survivors, who reportedly jumped into the Trishuli river and swam to the banks, were taken by residents to a nearby hospital, where they are now being treated.
Authorities mobilised the military and police to search for the missing passengers but the continuous rain was making rescue efforts difficult with landslides blocking the route leading to the area in several places, said Bhusal.
Police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki said there were 41 people in the first bus travelling from Kathmandu to Gaur, while the second from Birgunj to Kathmandu had 24 passengers. It is thought that more may have boarded en route.
