Kathmandu: A 19 kg magnet used to search for two buses that fell into the Trishuli River after a landslide in Simaltal on the Narayangadh-Mugling road section of Chitwan was washed away by the river.

Despite ongoing efforts by joint security forces from Nepal and India, the buses and the missing passengers remain unlocated. According to the Armed Police Force of Nepal, the powerful magnet used in the search operations was swept away by the Trishuli River and has not been recovered. Police Superintendent Janak Puri, the Information Officer of the Armed Police Disaster Management Training School Kurintar, reported that the signal from the magnet was detected downstream but the magnet itself has not been found. Two magnets, one weighing 14 kg and the other 19 kg, were being used in the search efforts.

Since last Sunday, a 12-member technical team from India's National Disaster Response Force, along with divers from Nepal's Armed Police Force, has been actively searching for the buses and the missing passengers.

The incident occurred on June 28th, when two buses — Bagmati Province No. 03-006 Bh 1516 Angel Deluxe traveling from Birgunj to Kathmandu, and Bagmati Province No. 03-2495 Bh 001 Ganapati Deluxe going from Kathmandu to Gaur — were swept into the Trishuli River by a landslide. Out of the 65 passengers on board, three managed to escape, while 62 went missing. The bodies of 24 passengers have been recovered from various locations, but the fate of 38 passengers and the two buses remains uncertain.