A bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims has left a highway in Nepal, leaving 14 dead, 16 injured and several missing
KATHMANDU, Nepal — At least 14 people were killed, 16 others injured and several others are believed to be missing after a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims veered off a key highway in Nepal on Friday, authorities said.
The bus turned off the Prithvi Highway and headed towards a fast-flowing river. Its roof was torn off before it came to a halt on the rocky bank right next to the murky, turbulent waters of the Marsyangdi.
Armed police spokesman Shailendra Thapa said that of those pulled out of the bus, 14 were declared dead and 16 were injured in the accident.
According to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, 43 people were on board the bus, all of them Indian nationals. The embassy also said the bus fell about 150 metres from the highway and that it was coordinating rescue operations with local authorities.
Police and army rescuers helped pull people from the rubble near Abukhaireni, a town about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu.
The bus from the nearby Indian city of Gorakhpur was heading to Kathmandu from the resort town of Pokhara on Friday when it left the highway midway.
In July, two buses were swept away by landslides not far from the scene of Friday’s accident. Of the 65 people on board the two buses, only three survived and only half of the bodies have been recovered. The remains of the buses have not yet been found, but authorities are continuing their search.
Bus accidents in Nepal are mainly due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles and much of the country is covered in mountains with narrow roads.
