There Is No Possibility Of Survivors, Nepalese Authorities Focus On Finding The Body Of A Bus Passenger Swept Away By Landslides

The location of the landslide on the Madan-Ashrit Highway Nepal (Source: Road Division Office, Bharatpur, Nepal)

JAKARTA - The rescue team in Nepal ruled out the possibility of finding survivors in a landslide last week that swept two buses with 65 passengers into the overflowing river due to heavy rains, authorities said on Monday.

Hundreds of security personnel resumed search operations on Monday morning to find the bus and 55 passengers who were still missing, more than 72 hours after the crash on the Madan-Ashrit Highway.

The search team that searched the crash site Friday in Chitwan District, about 86 km (53 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu. So far, the team managed to find seven bodies, including two bodies on Monday.

"There is no possibility of finding survivors. Our focus is on finding the bodies," said Bhesh Raj Rijal, a senior police official in Chitwan District.

Meanwhile, family members, who gathered at the search location, have been desperate to find their loved ones alive, an official said.

"They asked us to at least find the bodies. The scene here is gloomy," said Khimamananda Bhusal, a government official in the district.

It is known that landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains have killed more than 100 people in Nepal since mid-June.

After the landslide, the government announced plans to ban buses from operating at night in places with bad weather forecasts.