Kathmandu: A passenger bus from India crashed into a river in Nepal on Friday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 16, according to local media. The bus with 43 passengers, mainly from Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, was plying from the tourist resort of Pokhara to the Nepal capital, Kathmandu, when it fell into a river on Friday morning.
The Indian Embassy in Nepal has issued an emergency relief number, +977-9851107021, for immediate assistance.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that “some devotees from Maharashtra” were killed in the bus tragedy, and several others were injured.
The state government is in constant contact with the Nepal Embassy in Delhi. The Jalgaon Collector is maintaining touch with the Collector of Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh, which is on the India-Nepal border.
It is learnt that some officials from the Maharajganj Collectorate had proceeded to the border to render help, as the bus had a Uttar Pradesh registration number.
Fadnavis added that the Maharashtra government was in touch with the Uttar Pradesh government and the Nepal authorities to bring the bodies of the deceased persons from this state back home.
Besides the Maharashtra Disaster Management, state Ministers Girish Mahajan and Anil Patil were also coordinating the operations to bring back the Indians who perished in the bus disaster, the exact causes of which are not yet clear.
Patil said that the Nepal police and the army are also engaged in rescue operations, and the injured victims have been admitted to nearby hospitals. However, more information, including the identity of the victims, is not available yet.
Furthermore, the Indian Embassy informed that the bus was carrying about 43 Indian tourists when it plunged 150 meters into the Marshyangdi River on its way from Pokhara to Kathmandu.
The Indian Embassy announced in a post on the social media platform X that it was working with local authorities to coordinate relief and rescue efforts.
The Kathmandu Post reported that the accident took place in Anbu Khaireni of Central Nepal’s Tanahun district as the bus was moving towards Kathmandu from Pokhara.
After a preliminary inquiry, police estimated that the bus, bearing a UP number, was carrying 40 passengers.
As many as 14 bodies have been recovered from the accident spot, and 16 injured were rushed to the local hospital, stated the Armed Police Force (APF) DSP Shailendra Thapa, who is also the assistant spokesperson of the APF.
Relief and rescue operations are underway, and further details are awaited, even as initial images and videos of the accident posted on social media showed that the ill-fated bus had been severely damaged.
An eyewitness said that occupants of the Keserwani Pariwahan bus were travelling to Kathmandu after staying in Pokhara for two days.
Another eyewitness said that helicopters were unable to spot the bus, but Nepali authorities and the Army were carrying out the rescue operations.
Last month, five Indians were killed in a landslide in the Simatal area in Nepal’s Chitwan district.
In the tragedy that took place on July 12, two buses carrying 65 passengers were swept away after heavy rainfall.
Nepal is in the midst of the monsoon season and has seen heavy rainfall in recent weeks, triggering floods and landslides.
For more updates Subscribe to Media Eye News
–IANS
