KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescue workers in Nepal recovered the first body Saturday after a landslide a day earlier swept away two buses and pushed them into a raging river, authorities said.
The buses, carrying more than 50 people, crashed into the Trishuli River, which had been flooded by the persistent rains of the past few days. Heavy monsoon rains had turned the water a murky brown, making it even harder to see the wreckage.
The body was that of a man and was found about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from where the buses fell, government official Khima Nanda Bhusal said, adding that rescuers found a bank card and were working to identify the man, whose body was taken to a nearby hospital.
Rescuers are now expanding their search area southwards from the area where the landslide occurred and the man’s body was found, Bhusal said.
Weather conditions improved on Saturday, and search teams were able to cover more ground in the hunt for the missing buses and passengers. Heavy equipment had cleared much of the landslide from the highway, making the area easier to reach.
Soldiers and police teams used rubber rafts, divers and sensor equipment to try to locate the buses, which had been swept into the river by a landslide from the highway.
Three people were thrown from the buses and were treated at a nearby hospital.
Nepal’s rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon rains in recent days have swollen the waterways and turned their waters a murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreck.
The buses were on the major highway that connects Nepal’s capital to southern parts of the country when they were swept away Friday morning near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Kathmandu.
A third bus was hit by another landslide on the same highway a short distance away on Friday morning. Authorities said the driver was killed, but it was not clear if there were any other casualties.
The monsoon season brings heavy rainfall to Nepal from June to September. Landslides are common in the mountainous Himalayan region.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the government has imposed a ban on bus transport at night in areas where weather warnings are in effect.
