By Binod Prasad Adhikari
Chitwan [Nepal], July 21 : Twelve-member teams, including four divers from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have joined the Nepali search teams to locate two buses that have gone missing in the Trishuli River for a week since the July 12 landslide that wreaked havoc in the Himalayan nation.
Two buses carrying 65 passengers along the Narayanghat-Muglin road section were hit by a landslide in the wee hours of July 12 and swept away by the Trishuli River.
Three of the passengers somehow managed to get outside the bus and swim to the bank.
The Indian team which arrived in Chitwan yesterday started the search operation on Sunday morning, Chief District Officer of the district confirmedover the phone.
"A 12-member team of India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been carrying out the search operation since this morning," Chief District Officer Indra Dev Yadav confirmed.
Rescue and search teams from Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force (APF) have been searching the bus and the passengers since the incident, but they haven't been able to trace the buses so far.
The buses were washed away by a landslide at Simaltal on the Narayanghat-Mugling road.
More than 200 security personnel have been deployed to search for passengers. So far 25 bodies have been found in different locations and 17 people have been identified.
The whereabouts of the two buses and 37 passengers on them are still unknown. The rescue team from India arrived in Nepal at the request of the government due to a lack of manpower and proper equipment in the country.
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