By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) – Search and rescue teams are struggling to find the 54 missing people who were traveling in two passenger buses when a landslide swept them into a river in Nepal, local media said on Saturday.
The landlocked country in South Asia has been hit hard by heavy rain over the last several days, causing floods and landslides in various parts, with the Kathmandu Post reporting 15 deaths in flood-related incidents on Thursday and Friday.
However, no one has been rescued since the incident occurred before dawn on Friday, when two passenger buses were swept away into the Trishuli River in Chitwan district, about 86 kilometers (53 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, after being hit by a landslide.
Chitwan is one of Nepal's 77 districts, located in the southwest corner of Bagmati province.
Local authorities initially reported 65 people missing, but later revised the figure to 54 passengers and bus drivers. Three passengers escaped by jumping out of the vehicles.
One bus was travelling from Kathmandu to Gaur, while the other was travelling from Birgunj to Kathmandu.
According to local officials, 24 people were on board the Angel Deluxe Bus bound for Kathmandu, including 14 locals, seven Indians, and three bus crew members, while 30 people were on the other bus, according to the daily.
On Saturday morning, search and rescue teams resumed operations for the missing people.
The government also deployed Nepal police and army personnel to assist search and rescue teams in locating the missing people, but the heavy floods and continuous rainfall hampered their efforts.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid