Rescuers are making effort to search for the survival in the river. Rajesh Ghimire/Agence France-Presse via NYT Getty Images
A landslide that swept two buses with passengers on the motion into a river swollen by heavy rainfall in central Nepal in the early hours of Friday has resulted to more than 60 people reported missing, officials said.
According to Dan Bahadur Karki,a Nepal police spokesperson, the buses were pushed into the Trishuli River by a landslide that roared over a road connecting Chitwan and Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city.
A vehicle operated by Angel Bus was heading to Kathmandu, and a Ganapati Deluxe-operated bus was en route to Rautahat from the capital, when the accident occurred at around 3:30 a.m., according to the local police. Mr. Karki said 24 passengers were on the bus traveling to Kathmandu, and 41 were on the other bus.
However, three passengers on the Rautahat-bound bus survived by jumping off the bus as it went into the river, he said.
Rescuers from the Nepal Army, the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Police were deployed to the scene soon after the accident, but they have yet to rescue or recover any passengers.
“As many as 250 rescuers equipped with rescue boats are deployed to the place from where the buses plunged into the river,” Mr. Karki said. “Sadly, they haven’t been able to locate the missing buses, either.”
Initially, the collapsed earth from the landslide also blocked the path of rescuers. As the river level rises from more heavy rain, it is increasingly complicating the search-and-rescue operations.
In a separate episode, the driver of another bus on the same section of road died after a boulder hit his vehicle as he drove to Kathmandu from Butwal.
This year, monsoon-related disasters have been deadlier than usual in Nepal, a country particularly vulnerable to climate change. Earlier this month, floods and landslides from seasonal rains killed at least 15 people in 24 hours. On Thursday night, 11 people died in a landslide in Pokhara. Among those killed were seven people from a single family, The Kathmandu Post reported.
The Nepalese agency that deals with disaster management and risk reduction reported that at least 88 people had been killed by monsoon-related landslides, floods and lightning through Thursday.
Expressing concern over certain late-night bus trips, some officials called for adjusting bus operation schedules during monsoons. Rajendra Prasad Pandey, a legislator, proposed banning night bus service.
The monsoon-related death toll is increasing in Nepal at a time when political parties are busy breaking or making alliances to run the government. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal faces a vote in Parliament on Friday that could topple his government.
尼泊爾強降雨引發山崩，公車衝入河中，造成60多人失蹤
官員稱，週五凌晨，尼泊爾中部發生山體滑坡，兩輛載有乘客的巴士被捲入一條因季風降雨而水位上漲的河流中，目前已造成 60 多人失踪。
尼泊爾警方發言人 Dan Bahadur Karki 表示，連接奇旺和尼泊爾首都加德滿都的道路上發生山體滑坡，巴士被推入 Trishuli 河。
據當地警方稱，事故發生在凌晨 3 點 30 分左右，一輛由 Angel Bus 運營的車輛正前往加德滿都，一輛由 Ganapati Deluxe 運營的巴士正在從首都前往勞塔哈特的途中。 卡基先生說，前往加德滿都的巴士上有 24 名乘客，另一輛巴士上有 41 名乘客。
然而，他說，開往勞塔哈特的巴士上的三名乘客在巴士落入河中時跳車倖存。
事故發生後，尼泊爾陸軍、武警部隊和尼泊爾警方的救援人員很快就趕赴現場，但尚未解救或找回任何乘客。
「多達 250 名救援人員配備了救援船，被部署到巴士墜入河中的地方，」卡爾基先生說。 “遺憾的是，他們也未能找到失踪的巴士。”
最初，山崩崩塌的泥土也擋住了救援人員的道路。 隨著大雨增多，河水水位不斷上升，搜救行動變得越來越複雜。
在另一起事件中，同一路段的另一輛巴士的司機在從布德沃爾開車前往加德滿都時，被一塊巨石擊中，身亡。
今年，尼泊爾這個特別容易受到氣候變遷影響的國家，與季風相關的災害比往年更致命。 本月早些時候，季節性降雨引發的洪水和山崩在 24 小時內造成至少 15 人死亡。 週四晚上，博卡拉發生山體滑坡，造成 11 人死亡。 據《加德滿都郵報》報道，罹難者中有七人來自一個家庭。
尼泊爾負責災害管理和減少風險的機構報告稱，截至週四，季風相關的山體滑坡、洪水和閃電已造成至少 88 人死亡。
一些官員對某些深夜巴士出行表示擔憂，呼籲調整季風期間的巴士營運時間表。 立法者 Rajendra Prasad Pandey 提議禁止夜間巴士服務。
在尼泊爾各政黨忙著打破或結盟來管理政府之際，與季風有關的死亡人數正在增加。 總理普什帕·卡邁勒·達哈爾週五將在議會面臨投票，這可能會推翻他的政府。
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