A passenger bus that fell into the Karnali River on Thursday has still not been found.
The bus, bearing registration number Ka Pra 02-001 Kha 1055, was traveling from Surkhet to Kalikot when it veered off the road at Chamunda Bindrasaini Municipality-7 in Dailekh around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and plunged nearly 400 meters into the Karnali River.
Even after four days, neither the bus nor the passengers on board have been located.
Teams from all three security agencies – Nepal Police, Nepal Army, and Armed Police Force – have been deployed to search for the vehicle. The Nepal Army is sending an additional team on Sunday for the search operation.
According to Major Sabal Jung Shah of the Kalidatta Company in Dailekh, the Nepal Army alone has deployed a team of 45 personnel so far. Two teams are conducting searches using motorboats, one from the northern side and another from the southern side of the river.
A helicopter and drones were also deployed on Saturday to assist in the search.
Major Shah said that the additional team arriving on Sunday will include specially trained divers.
He added that once the special team from the North Western Division Headquarters in Surkhet arrives, the total number of army personnel involved in the search will exceed 60.
Meanwhile, a team of divers from the Armed Police Force has been deployed at the site since Thursday. A special six-member diving team from Surkhet is continuing the search. Another expert team from the Armed Police Force Disaster Management Training School in Kurintar has also been deployed.
Since Saturday afternoon, this team has been using advanced equipment including sonar cameras, river vehicle magnets, borescope cameras, and drones for underwater search operations.
More than 100 security personnel from Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Army are directly involved in the search operation.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Shrawan Kumar Bishwakarma, chief of the District Police Office, Dailekh, increased water flow and turbidity in the Karnali River due to rainfall have made the search difficult.
So far, four people who went missing along with the bus have been identified. Additionally, one person was found dead after being thrown from the bus and getting stuck on a cliff.
The missing individuals are driver Tulsi Ram Subedi from Majhigaun, Panchapuri Municipality-8, Surkhet; Subedi’s elder brother and co-driver Ram Prasad Subedi; Sirjana Khadka from Khadka Gaun, Raskot Municipality-2, Kalikot; and Mekhe Tiruwa from Pachal Jharana Rural Municipality-9, Kalikot.
The person found dead on the cliff has been identified as 45-year-old Jekhe Tiruwa from Pachal Jharana Rural Municipality-9, Kalikot. His body was handed over to the family after a postmortem, according to Inspector Pushpa Raj Rokaya, spokesperson for the District Police Office, Baitadi.
As four days have passed since the accident and the remaining missing passengers have not been found, hopes of finding them alive are fading.
