Nawalpur (Nawalparasi): Four additional bodies from the two buses swept away by the landslide at Simaltal in Bharatpur-29, Chitwan, last Friday have been found today in Nawalparasi (Bardaghat-Susta East). This brings the total to seventeen bodies recovered out of the 65 passengers who went missing in the incident.

The newly discovered bodies include a man around 35 years old found along the Narayani river bank in Gaindakot-7, Gairi; a woman around 35 years old in Madhyabindu-12, Tamaspur; a man around 40 years old in Gaindakot-19, Kharkhare; and another man around 40 years old near the Binayi Triveni-7 Gandak barrage bridge. DSP Bed Bahadur Poudel from the District Police Office Nawalparasi confirmed that investigations into these bodies are underway, and relatives of the missing passengers have been called to help identify them.

A large number of security personnel have been mobilized from Simaltal to Gandak Barrage to search for the remaining missing passengers. The Armed Police Force (APF) has so far identified nine of the recovered bodies, including Indian nationals Rishipal Shah, Jaya Prakash Thakur, and Sazad Ansari, as well as Bikas Pariyar and Sudip BK from Chitwan, Ramit Kushar Majhi from Sarlahi, Firoz Rahupamiya and Kishore Kumar Chaudhary from Rautahat, and Paramananda Pandit from Bara. The search operation continues for the remaining passengers and the two buses that fell into the Trishuli River during the landslide on July 12.