KATHMANDU – At least 62 passengers were missing after landslides swept two buses into a swollen and murky river in Nepal on Friday, authorities said.
Authorities mobilized scores of military and police personnel to search for the missing persons in the Trishuli River in Chitwan district, about 86 km (53 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu.
“The buses have not been spotted. The river is still swollen and the water is murky, posing challenges to the searchers,” said Antim Sinjali, a district official.
At least three passengers survived with minor injures by jumping off the buses before the mass of rocks and mud came down the slopes, Sinjali added.
He said seven Indian nationals were among the missing passengers. Images on social media showed rescue boats on the fast-flowing river, which looked brown in color due to mud and silt.
In Kaski district, 150 km (93 miles) west of Kathmandu, 11 people were killed when landslides washed away three houses, while three died in landslides in the neighboring Myagdi district, police spokesperson Dan Bahadur Karki said.
Landslides and floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains have killed at least 91 people in Nepal since mid-June.
In a social media post on Friday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed sadness over the disasters and instructed government agencies to conduct effective search and rescue operations. —Reuters
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