Rescuers recover first body from 2 buses that were hit by landslide and fell into a river in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescuers in Nepal recovered Saturday the first body after a landslide swept away two buses, pushing them into a raging river a day earlier, authorities said.

The buses, carrying more than 50 people, fell into the Trishuli river which was swollen by continuous rainfall over the past few days as heavy monsoon downpours turned their waters murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.

The body was that of a man and was found some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from where the buses fell, said government administrator Khima Nanda Bhusal. He added rescuers found a bank card and were in the process of identifying the man whose body was transported to a nearby hospital.

Rescuers are now expanding their search area toward the southern region from the landslide area where the man's body was found, Bhusal said.

Weather conditions improved 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 landslides from the highway, making it easier to reach the area.

Soldiers and police teams were using rubber rafts, divers and sensor equipment to try and locate the buses, which were pushed off the highway into the river by a landslide.

Three people were ejected from the buses and were being treated in a nearby hospital.

Nepal’s rivers generally are fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned their waters murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.

The buses were on the key highway connecting 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 Friday morning a short distance away on the same highway. Authorities said the driver was killed but it was not clear if there were any other casualties.

Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country.

The government has imposed a ban on passenger buses traveling at night in the areas where weather warnings are posted, according to the Home Ministry.

Nepal army personnel cary out a search operation looking for the survivors after two buses were swept by a landslide off the highway and into a swollen river near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/ Ramesh Paudel)

Nepal army personnel cary out a search operation looking for the survivors after two buses were swept by a landslide off the highway and into a swollen river near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/ Ramesh Paudel)

Damaged houses knocked by landslides are seen on the outskirts Pokhara, Nepal, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Yunish Gurung)

Rescuers in Nepal search for 2 buses with more than 50 people on board that was swept into a river

Rescuers in Nepal search for 2 buses with more than 50 people on board that was swept into a river

In this handout photograph released by Nepal Armed Police force, shows rescuers looking for the survivors after two buses were swept by a landslide off the highway and into a swollen river near Simaltal, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, July 12, 2024. (Nepal Armed Police Force via AP)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany's Volkswagen says auto industry headwinds mean it can't rule out plant closings in its home country - and must drop a longstanding job protection pledge in force since 1994 that would have barred layoffs through 2029.

“The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation," Oliver Blume, Volkswagen Group CEO, said in a statement Monday.

He cited new competitors entering the European markets, Germany's deteriorating position as a manufacturing location and the need to “act decisively.”

Thomas Schaefer, the CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars division, said efforts to reduce costs were “yielding results” but that the “headwinds have become significantly stronger.”

European automakers are facing increased competition from inexpensive Chinese electric cars. The company's half-year results indicate it will not achieve its target for 10 billion euros in costs savings by 2026, the company said.

The discussion around closures and layoffs is for the company's core Volkswagen brand. The core brand saw operating earnings sag to 966 million euros ($1.1 billion) from 1.64 billion euros in the year-earlier period.

The group also includes luxury makes Audi and Porsche, which have higher profit margins than the mass-market vehicles made by Volkswagen, as well as SEAT and Skoda.

The company has sought to cut costs through early retirements and buyouts that avoid forced layoffs, but is now saying those measures may not be enough. The additional measures affecting plants or job guarantees would be negotiated with worker representatives.

A plant closing would be the first since its U.S. plant in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania closed in 1988, according to the dpa news agency.

Union officials and worker representatives attacked the idea of closings or layoffs. Management's approach is “not only shortsighted, but dangerous, as it risks destroying the heart of Volkswagen,” Thorsten Groeger, chief negotiator with VW for the IG Metall industrial union, said on the union's website.

Top employee representative Daniela Cavallo said that “management has failed... The consequence is an attack on our employees, our locations and our labor agreements. There will be no plant closings with us.”

The governor of Germany's Lower Saxony region, Stephan Weil, who sits on the company's board of directors, agreed the company needed to take action but called on Volkswagen to avoid plant closings by relying on alternative ways to reduce costs: “The state government will pay particularly close attention to that,” he said in a statement reported by the dpa news agency.

FILE - The headquarters of car maker Volkswagen is shown in Wolfsburg, Germany, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)