At least 18 people were killed and several others injured after a passenger bus plunged into a river in Nepal’s Dhading district in the early hours of Monday.
The bus, en route from Pokhara to Kathmandu with more than 35 passengers on board, veered off the Prithvi Highway and fell into the Trishuli River near Gajuri, around 90 kilometres west of the capital, between 1.15 am and 1.30 am. The accident occurred at Chinadhara near Charaundi in ward 3 of Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality.
According to Shishir Thapa, chief of the District Traffic Police Office in Dhading, the death toll has risen to 18, The Kathmandu Post reported. Bishnu Prasad Bhatta, spokesperson for the Armed Police Force, said 17 bodies have been recovered so far, and 28 injured passengers were rescued from the submerged vehicle.
Rajkumar Thakuri, chair of the Highway Rescue Management Committee, said the injured were rushed to various hospitals for treatment. Rescue operations are being carried out by personnel from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and local residents. Officials noted that darkness and difficult terrain hampered efforts at the crash site.
Among those killed was a male passenger from New Zealand. A Japanese woman and a Dutch woman were reported injured.
Police said the exact cause of the accident remains under investigation, though overspeeding is suspected. Further details are awaited.
