Police have said that two bodies recovered from the Karnali River in Kailali on Monday morning are not related to the bus crash in Dailekh.
The body of a teenage girl found in the Gorange area near Chisapani in Lamkichuha Municipality-3 is believed to be that of 15-year-old Snyaha Sunar of Bheriganga Municipality-8, Surkhet. She had gone missing on July 4 after being swept away by the Bheri River while collecting firewood.
According to police, the body's physical features closely match the description provided by her family. Her relatives are on their way to the site for formal identification.
Inspector Mira Khadka, chief of the Area Police Office, Chisapani, said that all available evidence so far indicates that the body is Sunar's.
"The description provided by the family matches the body almost completely," Khadka said. "Her parents are traveling from Surkhet to formally identify the body."
Police had earlier stated that the body recovered from the Karnali River at Gorange was not connected to the Dailekh bus accident.
Similarly, the body of a man estimated to be 30-35 years old, found in the Solta area of Mohanyal Rural Municipality-6, has also been confirmed not to be the missing bus co-driver from the Dailekh crash. Police said that the family of the missing co-driver examined the body and confirmed it was not their relative.
Police now suspect the unidentified man may be from Kalikot and have asked a family believed to be connected to the deceased to assist with identification.
Earlier, it was believed that both bodies may have been carried downstream by the Karnali River following the Dailekh bus accident. However, police said that their investigation so far indicates that neither body is related to the crash.
Four people, including the driver and co-driver, remain missing after a passenger bus traveling from Surkhet to Kalikot plunged into the Karnali River at Chamunda Bindrasaini Municipality-7, Dailekh, on July 2. The bus (registration number Ka Pra 02-001 Kha 1055) veered off the road and fell into the river at around 11:30 a.m.
One body was recovered from the accident site, while security agencies including divers continue their search for the other missing persons.
Those missing include bus driver Tulsi Ram Subedi, about 28 years old, from Majhi Gaun in Panchapuri Municipality-8, Surkhet; Ram Prasad Subedi, about 31, the co-driver and the driver's elder brother; Sirjana Khadka, about 18, from Khadka Gaun in Raskot Municipality-2, Kalikot; and Mekhe Tiruwa, about 33, from Pachal Jharana Rural Municipality-9, Kalikot.
The body of Jekhe Tiruwa, 45, of Pachal Jharana Rural Municipality-9, was found trapped on a cliff after the crash.
Monday marks the fifth day of the search operation, with personnel from all three security agencies, assisted by divers, continuing efforts to locate the four missing people.
