Nepal: 27 Indian Pilgrims Killed, 16 Injured As Tourist Bus Plunges Into River – News18

At least 27 Indian pilgrims were killed who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra for a 10-day tour were killed and 16 others were injured after a passenger bus plunged into a river in central Nepal on Friday.

“An Indian tourist bus travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu with at least 40 Indians fell 150 metres into Marshyandi River today. Indian Embassy in Nepal is coordinating with local authorities undertaking Relief & Rescue,” India mission in Nepal said in a post on X.

The incident occurred at Anbookhaireni area in Chitawan district when the bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh carrying 43 passengers, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara.

While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of Armed Police Force (APF) Shailendra Thapa said.

Sixteen people who sustained injuries have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he said.

The dead bodies will be handed over to their family members after postmortem, Thapa said, adding that the postmortem will be conducted on Saturday at Western Regional Health Science Academy in Pokhara.

From Gorakhpur To Kathmandu

The bus from Gorakhpur was heading toward the capital Kathmandu from the resort town of Pokhara when it drove off the highway in Aaina Pahara in the Tanahun district.

At least 29 passengers have been rescued from the bus with the number plate UP 53 FT 7623. The bus was heading to Gorakhpur from Pokhara via Kathmandu. At least 14 people were confirmed dead in the accident. As many as 29 people have been sent to the hospital so far. The condition of those rescued passengers has not been disclosed yet.

A team of 45 Armed Police Force personnel led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Madhav Paudel from the Armed Police Force Nepal Disaster Management Training School has already reached the accident site and is carrying out the rescue operation, MyRepublic.com reported.

About 35 APF personnel from no 23 Battalion, Bhanu, Tanahun, are also involved in the rescue operation, the report said. According to DSP Dipak Kumar Raya, spokesperson of the District Police Office, Tanahun, the bus fell into Marsyangdi at around 11.30 am on Friday.

Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal. The bodies from the two buses were washed away down the Trishuli River as far as 100 kilometres. Search operations, including the deployment of a 12-member team from India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have not yet located the two missing buses and many passengers swept away by the landslide.

The bodies of five Indian nationals have been recovered so far while two are still missing. Nepal’s rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.

(With agency inputs)