Against all odds, a six-month-old infant, who was rescued following a passenger bus accident on Wednesday, is responding well to the treatment, doctors involved in the child’s treatment said on Thursday.

Eight people died and 22 others were injured when a passenger bus (Lu 2 Kha 291) en route from Kathmandu to Arghakhanchi plunged into Trishuli River near Fisling of Chitwan along the Prithvi Highway yesterday.

Doctors involved in his treatment said the boy survived miraculously.

“The rescuers found the boy on the river bank and rushed him to College of Medical Sciences in Bharatpur,” said SP Thapa, “The boy is admitted at the intensive care unit. We have not been able to locate his mother but search is underway.”

The child’s mother, Manisha Thapa, of Sandhikharka-1, Arghakhaanchi, is still missing following the accident.

Likewise, the infant’s kin, Sovit Samal said that he got the news of the child surviving the accident only yesterday evening. “The child is recovering well,” he said, “He is receiving treatment at the hospital ICU.”

The fatal crash on Wednesday occurred at around 9am when a speeding truck hit the bus.

Seven persons had died on the spot while one succumbed to injuries later. Security personnel and locals had rescued 22 people including the six-month-old child.

The ill-fated bus had left Kathmandu for Arghakhanchi at around 5:40. Divers from the Armed Police Force had pulled the bus from 25 feet below the water surface.