Simaltal accident: The team of Indian technicians who came to search for the missing bus and body returned

At around 3:30 AM on Friday 28th June, Ganpati transport bus No. 03-001 B 2495 coming from Kathmandu to Gaur and Bagmati Bus No. 03-006 B 1516 going to Kathmandu from Birgunj, Angel bus No. 03-006 B 1516 from Narayangadh, about 23 km east of Narayangadh, were swept away by a landslide in Sinduregaira, North Simaltal. He disappeared after falling on the trident.

According to the administration, there were 65 passengers in both the buses, but the bus reached Trishuli, but three passengers of the Angel bus managed to save their lives by swimming on their own. Of the remaining 62 people and two buses missing in Trishuli, 25 bodies have been found so far. Out of them, only the bodies of 19 people have been confirmed to be the passengers of the bus that fell in the landslide and the bus has not been found yet.

The government has continuously mobilized a team with experts since the day after the accident to search for the missing passengers and the bus, while last Sunday the technicians of India's 'National Disaster Response Force' (NDRF) came to search with technology. The technicians who assisted in the search by using their technology and skills for a week have called two places from Simaltal to Kerabari as suspicious areas.

Bidding farewell to the Indian team, Chief District Officer of Chitwan Yadav said that now only a team of Nepali technicians will be mobilized to search for the missing bus and bodies. 12 technicians who came along with four divers had helped in the search since last Sunday. The Indian team searched with sonar, a device that indicates the size and shape of objects in the water.

The Nepali team also searched with divers and sonar and cameras that can see objects in the water. It was expected that the search operation would be successful because the three sonars that the Indians had were more sophisticated than the ones used by the Nepalese and the technicians were experienced. But that could not happen. "After reviewing the work done by the Indian and our joint team so far, the Indian team has been sent back with a thank you note," said Chief District Officer Yadav.

According to him, the District Security Committee has prepared to hold a meeting on Sunday to proceed with the second phase of the investigation. Prazia Yadav informed that the missing persons whose bodies have been found and identified, and whose bodies have not been found, will be treated as dead according to the government's decision and the process of relief distribution will be carried out.

According to him, out of the 19 bodies identified by the family so far, three are women and 16 are men. Seven Indian citizens in one bus and two in the other nine Indian citizens also disappeared in the river along with the bus. Out of which the bodies of five Indians have been found. The condition of the remaining 43 passengers is unknown, except for the three who were safe and the 19 whose bodies were found. The body has not been found since July 4th.

The Indian team's search was focused on the Trishuli river around the place where the bus fell. They searched the bus on Saturday using two powerful magnets of 19 kg and 14 kg. A 19 kg magnet has been lost in Trishuli. Indian technicians had said that the upwelling of the Trishuli River and the high flow of the river had hindered the search operation.