Kathmandu, Nepal. At least 27 people were killed and 16 injured when a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims veered off a road in Nepal on Friday, authorities said.
The vehicle veered off the Prithvi Expressway and plunged into a fast-flowing river. The top of the vehicle was smashed before it came to rest on the rocky bank at the edge of the murky waters of the Marsyangdi.
Rescuers recovered 27 bodies from the wreckage of the bus and took the 16 injured to the capital, Kathmandu, where they received treatment, according to police spokesman Shailendra Thapa.
The wreckage was found near Abukhaireni, a town about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu, and in the river. It will not be removed until Saturday because it was already dark and recovery efforts were difficult, Thapa said.
The bus was carrying 43 people, all of them Indian nationals, according to the Indian embassy in Kathmandu. The vehicle fell about 150 meters (50 feet) from the road, the embassy said, adding that it was coordinating with local authorities for the rescue operation.
The bus, from the neighbouring Indian city of Gorakhpur, was heading to Kathmandu from the tourist town of Pokhara when it veered off the road halfway along the journey.
Tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims from neighbouring India visit Nepal every year to visit Hindu shrines. Nepal is a Hindu-majority country. Local news reports say the pilgrims on the bus were also heading to Kathmandu to visit Pashupatinath, the revered temple of the Hindu god Shiva.
In July, two buses were swept away by landslides not far from the scene of Friday’s crash. Of the 65 people on board, only three survived and only half of the bodies were recovered. The wreckage of the buses has not yet been found and authorities were still searching for them.
Bus incidents in Nepal are mainly due to the poor condition of roads and vehicles as much of the country has narrow mountain roads.
#dead #road #accident #Nepal
– 2024-09-01 08:46:42
