Indian among three dead in double bus crash in Nepal

The body of a 40-year-old Indian national working in Nepal was among three corpses recovered by rescue workers on Saturday from the wreckage of two buses carrying more than 50 passengers when an avalanche swept them into a rain-swollen river on Friday.

The two buses with 54 passengers, including seven Indians, disappeared on Friday in the Trishuli during the landslides in Chitwan district. Three people were later able to swim to safety.

The first body from the buses was recovered in the morning, 50 kilometers from the accident site. The deceased was identified as Rishi Pal Shahi from India, police said.

Rescue workers recovered two more bodies from the Gaindakot area of ​​East Nawalparasi district in the afternoon, police said. They were passengers of a bus travelling from Birgunj to Kathmandu, they said. Besides Shahi, the other missing Indian citizens were identified as Santosh Thakur, Surendra Sah, Adit Miyaan, Sunil, Shahnawaj Alam and Ansari.

A bus travelling from Birgunj to Kathmandu carried 24 people, including seven Indian nationals, and another bus travelling from Kathmandu to Gaur carried 30 locals. The two buses plunged into the river when the landslide triggered by heavy rain swept them away with muddy water and water.

More than 500 security personnel, including from the Nepal Army and Nepal Police, as well as deep-sea divers have been mobilized for the search operation, police said.