At least 24 people were killed and 22 others injured yesterday when the passenger bus they were travelling in plunged some 300m down a steep hillside in eastern Nepal’s Khotang
district.
The bus was travelling to capital Kathmandu from Kavrepani Bhir.
Furgel Sherpa, police inspector at Khotang district, said all the victims have been identified.
The injured were airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment.
However, the exact number of passengers travelling in the bus was not immediately known and the cause of the accident was under probe.
The bus swerved when a section of the road crumbled away but could not avoid going over the edge, witnesses were quoted as saying by local media.
Nepal is mostly covered with mountains, and most roads are narrow with hairpin bends, with only gravel roads linking mountain villages.
Most accidents in Nepal are blamed on poorly maintained vehicles and road conditions. Buses are crowded and people often travel on the roofs.
NEPAL
