Nepal Bus Tragedy: Kathmandu–Okhaldhunga Bus Plunges 100 Metres Into Tamakoshi River, At Least 12 Dead, Search For Missing Continues

A tragic bus accident has claimed many lives in central Nepal after a passenger bus plunged into the Tamakoshi River in the Ramechhap district on Tuesday morning. The bus was travelling from Kathmandu to Okhaldhunga when the accident occurred, police and local officials said.

As per reports, the incident happened at around 11 am when the bus, belonging to Araniko Transport (registration Province 01-005 Kha 9975), went off the road and fell about 100 metres down into the fast-flowing Tamakoshi River near Machanetar in Manthali Municipality-6.

12 dead, several injured in Nepal bus tragedy

Local police said that at least 12 people were killed in the crash. Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhola Kumar Bhatta said that victims included men and women, and that six bodies were recovered at the scene, while others died later in hospital. “Eight people were injured, and seven of them have been sent to Kathmandu for further treatment due to serious injuries,” Bhatta said, according to reports. 

Rescue teams from the Armed Police Force, local police and disaster management units worked together to evacuate survivors and retrieve bodies from the river. Divers are still searching parts of the submerged vehicle, and authorities have not confirmed the exact number of passengers who were inside the bus at the time of the accident.

Driver detained, probe on

Reports say that the injured have been taken to hospitals in Ramechhap and Kathmandu. The doctors are treating the people involved in the bus fall for serious injuries. Police have also taken the bus driver into custody as part of the investigation. Police have further added that the investigation is ongoing to ascertain the facts regarding the accident. 

Nepal has narrow roads and is a mountainous country which makes the driving challenging and tricky. Such terrain has contributed to a lot of accidents in Nepal. Recently l, a bus carrying a wedding party fell down a steep slope, in which 13 people died and 34 were injured.

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