At least 16 killed as passenger bus plunges into gorge in Nepal mountain

At least 16 persons have been killed and an estimated two dozen persons injured when a passenger bus skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Hansapur of Arghakhanchi district, Sunday morning.

The bus numbered Lu 1 Kha 3978 had left Gokhunga at 6.30 am this morning and was heading towards district headquarter Sandhikharka. The accident occurred in a place called Kamerepani, at distance of five-hours walk from the district headquarter.

Police have said, the number of dead could increase further as many passengers are still trapped inside the bus. Although, police have reached the site for rescue, they have not been able to reach the place where the bus is trapped due to the extreme difficulty of the landscape.

The recovered sixteen bodies are those that had fallen off the bus through the door and the windows as the bus was rolling down the hill. The deceased include Baburam Khanal, Umesh Khanal, Nabin Poudel, Prem Poudel and his granddaughter, Meera Poudel and her baby, Hari Prasad Panthi and bus driver Surya Bista. Most of the deceased are from Gokhunga.