KATHMANDU, Feb 23 : At least 19 people, including a British national, were killed and 25 others injured after a bus travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu plunged into the Trishuli river in Dhading early Monday.
The bus fell into the river near Charaundi in Rorang Rural Municipality at around 1:15am.
The bus (Ga 2 Kha 1421) reportedly spun out of control and plunged about 200 meters off the road to the bank of the Trishuli River.
Chief of the District Traffic Police Office, Dhading Shishir Thapa said the death toll has reached 19.
Nine of the 19 dead have been identified so far. These include one 24-year-old British national and eight Nepalese.
According to the police, a total of 25 injured people are undergoing treatment, including 14 at the Trauma Center, 10 at the National Hospital Kalanki, and one at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj. According to reports, the bus was carrying 44 people at the time of accident.
Personnel from the Nepali Army, Armed Police Force, Nepal Police and local residents are involved in the rescue operation.
Authorities said the nighttime incident has made rescue efforts difficult.
One injured passenger, a New Zealand national, is undergoing treatment at Malekhu Teaching Hospital in Dhading. He has sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and has chosen to continue treatment there instead of travelling to Kathmandu.
The bodies have been sent to Gajuri Community Hospital for post-mortem.
The bus had left the Tourist Bus Park in Pokhara at 7pm on Sunday. Operated by Prithvi Rajmarg Bus Sanchalak Company Pvt Ltd, the bus was carrying some foreign nationals.
According to an official, the bus owner, Om Kumar Shrestha, was also on board and died at the scene. The driver remains missing.
(UNI)
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