At least 38 pilgrims were killed yesterday when an overcrowded bus carrying them from India to a Hindu festival in southern Nepal swerved off a highway and plunged into a deep river.
The bus was taking the devotees – 35 of whom were from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh – to a temple in Nawalparasi district, 150 kilometres west of Kathmandu, police inspector Deepak Raya told AFP from the crash site.
“We have discovered 38 dead bodies. Five persons who jumped off from the bus before it plunged into the river are undergoing treatment at local hospitals,” he said.
“Among them, there is one small girl, 10 women and the rest are men. We have not seen the bus – it is still inside the water.”
He said the survivors had told police there were around 75 people on board before the vehicle fell into the Gandak river, on Nepal’s border with India.
“We are yet to find out the cause of the accident. The water level in the river was high as it is monsoon time,” Inspector Raya told AFP.