Kathmandu:
Nepalese rescuers resumed the search Saturday for at least 63 people missing after monsoon rains triggered a landslide that swept two buses off a highway and into a river.
The force of Friday’s landslide in central Chitwan district pushed vehicles over concrete barriers and down a steep embankment, at least 30 meters (100 feet) from the road.
Dozens of rescuers spent hours struggling to search the swollen Trishuli River, an effort hampered by muddy waters and violent currents, before sunset forced them to call off the search.
No signs of the vehicles or their occupants have yet been found.
“We will search every possible place,” Chitwan district chief Indra Dev Yadav told AFP.
“We will employ all our skills for search and rescue, despite the water levels, the current and the muddy water.”
District official Khimananda Bhusal told AFP on Friday that the buses were carrying at least 66 people between them, but three passengers managed to escape and were treated at a local hospital.
The accident happened before dawn along the Narayanghat-Mugling highway, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Kathmandu.
One bus was heading from the capital to Gaur in Rautahat district in southern Nepal and the other was on its way to Kathmandu from southern Birgunj.
A driver died in a separate accident on the same road after a rock hit his bus. He died while being treated in a hospital.
Deadly accidents are common in the Himalayan republic due to poorly constructed roads, poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
Nearly 2,400 people lost their lives on Nepal’s roads in the 12 months to April, according to government data.
Twelve people were killed and 24 injured in an accident in January when a bus heading from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu fell into a river.
Road travel becomes deadliest during the annual monsoon season, as rains trigger landslides and floods across the mountainous country.
Monsoon rains in South Asia from June to September provide relief from the summer heat and are crucial for replenishing water supplies, but they also bring widespread death and destruction.
Precipitation is difficult to predict and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making monsoons stronger and more irregular.
Floods, landslides and lightning strikes have killed 88 people across the country since the monsoon began in June, according to police figures.
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