Despite relentless efforts by rescuers, including trained divers, two buses and around five dozen passengers remain missing in the rain-swollen Trishuli River since Friday morning.

So far, the rescuers have recovered the bodies of six people out of the 62 who went missing after a landslide swept away two buses into the mighty river near Simaltal along the Narayanghat-Muglin road in Chitwan district in the wee hours on Friday. Among them, five bodies have been identified as of Sunday evening, police said.

It has been confirmed that a body found in the Narayani River in Gaindakot of Nawalparasi East on Sunday morning is of the road accident victim. Police identified the deceased as a 29-year-old man from ward 4 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

Three other bodies—two in Gandak canal in the Triveni area and one in Susta, in Nawalparasi East—were recovered on Sunday evening. These bodies are also yet to be identified.

According to the Chief District Officer of Chitwan Indradev Yadav, the bodies of a 22-year-old man from Chitwan, a 19-year-old man from Sarlahi and a 28-year-old Indian national have been identified so far.

Meanwhile, the District Administration Office, Chitwan, revised the total number of people travelling on the buses to 65. According to police, three managed to escape unhurt.

According to Chief District Officer of Yadav, 27 passengers’ names were recorded at the ticket counter of the bus travelling to Gaur from Kathmandu. Yadav said it had been confirmed that 11 more people were travelling on the bus, according to their relatives.

A total of 23 passengers were on the bus en route to Kathmandu from Birgunj, as per the record maintained at the ticket counter. Four more people were on board the bus as per their relatives, said Yadav.

The places from where the bodies were retrieved are more than 50 kilometres from the site of the accident. The bodies were found on river banks. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Bheshraj Rijal, five of the bodies were first spotted by local residents, who had informed the police.

Following the recovery of the bodies dozens of kilometres downstream, the authorities have revised their search strategies.

"Fifteen different teams of Nepal Police have been mobilised up to the Golaghat area, which is around 50 kilometres downstream from the incident site. Similarly, three different teams of the Nepal Army and 15 teams of the Armed Police Force including a motor boat and seven inflatable boats have been scouring the area tirelessly in search of the missing people and wreckages of the buses," said Rijal.