At least 27 Indian pilgrims were killed and 16 others were injured after a bus they were travelling in veered off the highway and fell 150 meters into the Marsyangdi River in central Nepal on Friday.
The bus, with registration number UP 53 FT 7623, was traveling from Pokhara to Kathmandu when it drove off the highway in Aaina Pahara, Tanahun district, on Friday. There were 43 people on board, including the driver and co-driver.
While 16 persons died on the spot, 11 others succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, said Shailendra Thapa, Deputy Spokesperson of Armed Police Force (APF).
He said that 16 injured persons have been airlifted to Kathamandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, adding that the bodies of the deceased will be handed over to their families after autopsy.
Thapa said that the postmortem will be conducted on Saturday at Western Regional Health Science Academy in Pokhara.
The passengers onboard the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation, MyRepublica news portal reported.
They came from Bhusal village in Jalgaon district. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning.
Madhav Prasad Paudel, chief of the Armed Police Force (APF), Kurintar, said that most of the passengers travelling in the three buses were families and relatives.
"An Indian tourist bus travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu with around 43 Indians fell 150 metres into Marshyandi River today," the Embassy of India said in a post on X.
Thapa also said that 250 security personnel, including those from Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal police, were deployed for rescue efforts. He said that twin rope was used to conduct the rescue operation as the accident site lies in a deep and narrow gorge near the Marsyangdi River.
The reason for the accident is yet not known.
Similar Accidents In Nepal
Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal.
The bodies from the two buses were washed away down the Trishuli River as far as 100 kilometres.
Extensive search operations, including the deployment of a 12-member team from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have not yet located the two missing buses and many passengers swept away by the landslide. The bodies of five Indian nationals have been recovered so far while two are still missing.
Nepal's rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.
Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country.
(With PTI inputs)
