KATHMANDU – A tragic bus accident in western Nepal claimed 19 lives early Monday morning when the vehicle tumbled off a mountainous roadway, according to local police officials.
Among the fatalities was a citizen from the United Kingdom, authorities confirmed. Police report that only nine victims have been positively identified at this time.
The accident occurred before sunrise when the passenger bus, traveling from the popular tourist destination of Pokhara to Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu, plummeted approximately 650 feet down an embankment near Behighat in Dhading district. The crash site is located roughly 50 miles west of Kathmandu.
Twenty-five passengers survived the crash with injuries, including citizens from New Zealand and China. All injured victims have been transported to medical facilities in Kathmandu for treatment, police officials stated.
The bus was transporting a total of 44 passengers at the time of the accident.
Such transportation disasters occur frequently throughout Nepal’s predominantly mountainous terrain, where roadway infrastructure remains inadequate. The country experiences hundreds of traffic-related fatalities each year due to these challenging conditions.
