Rescue personnel gather after a bus plunged into the Marsyangdi river, in Nepal's Tanahun district, on Aug. 23.SHANKHAR ADHIKARI/AFP/Getty Images
At least 14 people were killed, 16 other injured and several more believed to be missing after a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims drove off a key highway Friday in Nepal, officials said.
The bus veered off Prithvi Highway and rolled toward a fast-flowing river. Its roof was ripped open before stopping on the rocky bank just shy of the Marsyangdi’s rushing, murky water.
Armed Police Force spokesperson Shailendra Thapa said that, among those pulled out of from the bus, 14 were declared dead and 16 were injured in the accident.
There were 43 people on board the bus and all of them 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 they were co-ordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue operations.
Police and army rescuers helped pull people from the wreckage near Abukhaireni, a town about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu.
The bus from neighbouring Indian town of Gorakhpur was heading toward Kathmandu from the resort town of Pokhara on Friday when it drove off the highway midway in the journey.
In July, two buses were swept by landslides not too far from Friday’s accident site. Of the 65 people on board those two buses, only three survived and only about half the bodies were recovered. The wreckage of those buses have not been found yet but authorities have continued to search.
Bus accidents in Nepal are mostly due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles and much of the country is covered by mountains with narrow roads.