An Indian tourist bus drove off the highway and fell 150 meters into the Marsyangdi River in central Nepal on Friday killing 14 people and 16 more injured according to the reports.
[Source: Firstpost]
The bus was heading towards Kathmandu from the resort town of Pokhara when it drove off the highway in Aina Pahara in the Tanahun district.
There were 43 people in the bus, including the driver and the co-driver. 14 bodies were retrieved from the incident site, meanwhile 16 people who were injured were immediately taken to the nearest local hospital.
11 people were still missing at the time of the incident. The Nepal Army Police and the Armed Police Force initiated the search and rescue operation. An army helicopter with the rescue team left for the spot in coordination with the Indian embassy in Kathmandu.
The police have also obtained the names of the tourists from hotel records and are verifying them, said the District Police Chief, Mohan Thapa.
The bus has been heavily damaged since it fell off the highway in the riverbank.
The rivers in Nepal are generally extremely fast-flowing due to the mountain terrains. The heavy monsoon has swollen the waterways making the color of the water more brown which makes it more difficult to see the wreckage.
Eyewitnesses claim that the bus plunged into Marsyangdi, near Abu Khairani but it was not completely submerged in the river.
Similar bus incidents:
Last month, 2 buses carrying almost 67 passengers were washed away by a landslide in Trishuli River in Nepal. Extensive search operation was launched by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). They have not yet located the two missing buses.
[Source: Swarajya]
