A 12-member Indian search and rescue team that came to Nepal to search for two buses and their passengers missing in the Simaltal accident returned home on Sunday empty-handed.

Rescuers from India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had joined the Nepali rescue teams of Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force on July 21 and worked 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 expected to succeed due to the advanced sonar devices used by the experienced Indian team, but to no avail.

On Saturday, the Indian team comprising four divers searched for the missing buses using two giant magnets weighing 19 kg and 14 kg, respectively. But the buses could not be located, and the powerful rapids of the Trishuli river also swept away the 19 kg magnet.

“No bodies have been recovered since July 19. There was no hope of retrieving the wreckages of the buses. So the Indian team returned,” said Indradev Yadav, the chief district officer of Chitwan. “We will review the work done so far by the joint teams, express our gratitude to the Indian team, and bid farewell to the Indian team. The Nepali team will continue the search operation until we receive further instruction from the centre,” said Yadav.

The Indian technical team, according to Yadav, informed that the depth and the currents of the river were far more than expected. “They said that the river is around 50 metres deep and the current was three times more than they thought. They suggested using a massive magnet of around 80kg and it should be tied with an iron chain,” said Yadav.

“The Indian team identified two potential sites within three kilometers downstream from Simaltal where the bus wreckages might be stuck. We will search in these areas,” added Yadav.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the district security committee on Sunday decided to proceed with the relief distribution as per the decision of the government, presuming all the missing people as dead.

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 get outside and swim to safety.

The search teams 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.