Flood-swept cruise ship gets stuck under Narayani bridge, halting traffic

A cruise ship that had been tied up on the bank of the Narayani river in Chitwan was swept away by floodwaters on Sunday afternoon. The drifting vessel struck a pier of the bridge over the Narayani river and got stuck on the Gaindakot side of the bridge.

After the cruise ship became lodged under the bridge, traffic on the Narayani bridge connecting Bharatpur in Chitwan and Gaindakot in Nawalpur was completely halted. Vehicles have been fully barred from using the bridge, with only motorcycles currently being allowed through.

Meanwhile, the water level of the Narayani river reached 11.94 meters today. According to the Narayani Basin Field Office, this is the highest water level recorded at the Devghat gauging station since measurements began.

With the rising water level, dozens of settlements along the banks of the Narayani have been inundated.