2 buses carrying at least 60 people swept into a river by landslide in Nepal
UNB
Publish: 12 Jul 2024, 05:38 PM
KATHMANDU,
Nepal (AP) - At least 60 people were believed missing in Nepal after two buses
were swept by a landslide off a highway and into a swollen river early Friday.
Three passengers were rescued as the continuous rain made rescue efforts
difficult.
The three survivors were
being treated in the hospital, government administrator Khima Nanada Bhusal
said, adding that they reportedly jumped out of the bus and swam to the banks,
where locals found them and took them to a nearby hospital.
Landslides also blocked
routes to the area in several places, according to Bhusal. Additional rescuers
and security forces have been sent to help with rescue efforts.
The buses were swept off
the highway around 3 a.m. near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west
of the capital, Kathmandu.
One bus was carrying at
least 24 people, while the other had at least 42, but more could have boarded
en route, Bhusal said.
A third bus was hit by
another landslide on Friday morning a short distance away on the same highway,
killing the driver, Bhusal added. It was not clear if there were any other
casualties.
Nepal's Prime Minister
Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was saddened by the news and expressed concern over
recent flooding and landslides. He added that several government agencies were
searching for the missing, in a post on the social media platform X.
On Thursday night, a
landslide buried a hut and killed a family of seven near the resort town of
Pokhara. The family were asleep when the landslide crushed their hut and
damaged three more houses nearby.
Monsoon season brings
heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the
mountainous Himalayan country.
End/UNB/AP/MB