Indian rescue team returns empty-handed after week-long search

A 12-member Indian search and rescue team that had come to Nepal to search for two buses and their passengers missing in the Simaltal disaster returned home empty-handed on Sunday.

Rescue workers from India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined Nepali rescue teams from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police on July 21 and worked for a week.

Despite all the joint efforts, the buses that disappeared into the river on July 12 have still not been found. The search could have been successful thanks to the experienced Indian team’s state-of-the-art sonar equipment, but it was in vain.

On Saturday, the Indian team of four divers searched for the missing buses using two huge magnets weighing 19 kg and 14 kg respectively. However, the buses could not be found and the strong rapids of the Trishuli river also swept away the 19 kg magnet.

“No bodies have been recovered since July 19. There was no hope of recovering the wreckage of the buses. So the Indian team has returned,” said Indradev Yadav, district administrator of Chitwan. “We will review the work done so far by the joint teams, express our gratitude to the Indian team and bid them farewell. The Nepali team will continue the search operation until we receive further instructions from the Centre,” said Yadav.

The Indian technical team told Yadav that the depth and current of the river were much greater than expected. “They said the river was about 50 meters deep and the current was three times stronger than expected. They suggested using a massive magnet of about 80 kg and attaching it with an iron chain,” Yadav said.

“The Indian team has identified two possible spots within three kilometres downstream of Simaltal where the bus wreckage might be. We will search in these areas,” Yadav added.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the District Security Committee on Sunday, it was decided to continue with the distribution of relief goods as per the government’s decision as all the missing persons are presumed dead.

Two buses carrying 65 passengers on the Narayanghat-Muglin road were hit by a landslide and swept away by the Trishuli River in the early hours of July 12. Three of the passengers managed to escape from the bus and swim to safety.

Search teams have so far found 25 bodies on the banks of the Narayani River and in the Triveni Dam area, about 103 kilometres downstream from the accident site. Only 19 of the bodies found downstream have been confirmed as missing.