KATHMANDU, Dec 15, 2019 (BSS/XINHUA) – At least 14 passengers were
killed while around 16 others injured in a bus crash at Sindhupalchowk
district in central Nepal on Sunday morning, authorities confirmed.
Ganesh Khanal, spokesperson at district police office Sindhupalchowk,
told Xinhua, “12 passengers died on the spot while two breathed their last in
the hospital. The injured have already been sent to the hospitals.”
According to the police, the ill-fated bus fell few hundred meters down
the road at Sunkoshi rural municipality of the district located in Province
3. The bus was en-route to the capital city Kathmandu from Dolakha’s
Kalinchowk, a popular religious and tourism destination.
“We have estimated that at least 32 people were travelling in the bus.
The driver flew from the scene after the accident, while the assistant is
seriously injured,” Khanal said.
The injured have been rushed to the nearby local hospital and Kathmandu
for treatment. The police, which were yet to ascertain the identities of all
the deceased, said they were investigating the reason behind the accident.
Over-crowded vehicles, poorly-maintained roads and shoddy conditions of
public vehicles have significantly led to frequent road accidents in recent
years in Nepal.
According to the Nepal police, more than 22,000 lost their lives in the
past 10 years in road accidents.