A 12-member Indian rescue and search team that came to Nepal to search for passengers and buses missing in the Simaltal incident is returning on Sunday.

Rescuers from India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined the Nepali teams on July 21 and were engaged in the operation for a week.

Despite the joint efforts, the buses that went missing in the river on July 12 have yet to be located. The search was anticipated to be successful due to the advanced sonar devices used by the experienced Indian team.

“We will review the work done so far by the joint teams, express our gratitude to the Indian team, and bid them farewell today,” said Chitwan’s Chief District Officer Indradev Yadav

He said the Nepali team will continue with the second phase of the search operation. “However, it will not be as swift and intensive as the previous one,” said Yadav.

Two buses carrying 65 passengers along the Narayanghat-Muglin road section were hit by a landslide in the wee hours of July 12 and swept away by the Trishuli River. Three of the passengers managed to somehow get outside the bus and swam to the bank.

The search team have so far found 25 bodies in the Narayani riverbanks and in the Triveni Dam area, approximately 103 kilometres downstream from the incident site. Only 19 bodies found downstream have been confirmed to be of those missing in the incident.

The Indian team used two powerful magnets weighing 19 kg and 14 kg for the search on Saturday. However, the magnet weighing 19 kg was lost in the river. Indian technicians said the river’s turbulent flow and high water levels hindered the search efforts.