Five persons, including a woman, were killed and 17 others were seriously injured on Friday afternoon when a passenger bus plunged into a river at Tanahu district in Central Nepal.
Police officials from Tanahu district said a mini-bus, which was heading to Pokhara from Narayangarh, lost control and plunged into Trishuli river. The vehicle was overloaded, police claimed.
Local people and police immediately rushed to the spot to rescue the passengers of the ill-fated bus. Five bodies have been recovered, and the injured people have been shifted to a local hospital, the officials said.
One of the deceased has been identified as 53-year-old Dil Bahadur Gharti, police said, adding that initially, it was difficult to carry out the rescue operation as water was deep as the place of the accident was the confluence of Trishuli and Marsyangdi rivers.
The area has been accident-prone as the road is serpentine, and almost every week, there are reports of vehicles, especially night passenger buses, plunging into Trishuli river.
Though there are speed limits on the road, the drivers of the passenger buses do not follow the norms, and often result in meeting with accidents.
{{/usCountry}}Though there are speed limits on the road, the drivers of the passenger buses do not follow the norms, and often result in meeting with accidents.
{{/usCountry}}Police said that the driver of the mini-bus, which met with the accident on Friday, is absconding.