A bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims has run off 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 more are believed to be missing after a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims veered off a main road on Friday in Nepalofficials said.
The bus turned off the Prithvi Highway and rolled towards a fast flowing river. Its roof tore off before coming to rest on the rocky shore just out of sight of the rushing, murky waters of the Marsyangdi.
Armed police force spokesperson Shailendra Thapa said among those pulled out of the bus, 14 were declared dead and 16 injured in the accident.
There were 43 people on board the bus and all were Indian nationals, according to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. The embassy also said the bus fell about 150 meters (500 feet) from the highway and that it was coordinating with local authorities conducting relief and rescue operations.
Police and army rescuers helped pull people from the wreckage near Abukhaieni, a town about 120 kilometers 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 veered off the highway midway through the journey.
In July, two buses were swept away by landslides not so far from the scene of Friday’s accident. Of the 65 people on board these two buses, only three survived and only half of the bodies were recovered. The wreckage of these buses has not yet been found but the authorities have continued to search.
Bus accidents in Nepal are mostly due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles and large parts of the country are covered in mountains with narrow roads.