Chitwan- Wreckage of a bus has been found on the bank of the Trishuli River at Dwandrang Bensi, under Aanbukhaireni Rural Municipality–5 of Tanahun, raising strong suspicion that it may be one of the buses that went missing in Simaltal, Bharatpur Metropolitan City–29, last year.
According to police, the wreckage was located around 200 meters towards the Tanahun side from the original site where the bus was swept away. The discovery was made after local residents noticed a fishing net getting stuck while fishing in the river and reported seeing an object resembling a bus.
Inspector Prateek Singh of the Muglin Area Police Office said that excavation work began immediately after a bus-like structure was found buried under sand along the riverbank.
“The visible blue color of the wreckage matches that of the Ganapati bus that went missing from Simaltal, so there is a strong possibility that it is the same vehicle,” Inspector Singh said. However, he added that official confirmation can only be made after the bus is fully retrieved.
On July 12, 2024, two passenger buses were swept into the Trishuli River following a landslide at Simaltal along the Narayangadh–Muglin road section. The missing vehicles were the Ganapati bus (Bagmati Province–03–001 Kha 2495) and the Angel Deluxe bus (Bagmati Province–03–006 Kha 1516).
According to the District Police Office, a total of 65 people were travelling on the two buses at the time of the incident. So far, 11 bodies have been recovered, while three passengers were rescued alive. Deputy Superintendent of Police Rabindra Khanal stated that 51 people remain missing in what is considered one of the deadliest road disasters in recent years.
Search, recovery, and identification efforts are ongoing.
