At least 19 people were killed after a passenger bus veered off a mountain highway and plunged down a hillside in Nepal shortly after midnight, police said.
The bus was travelling from Pokhara to the capital Kathmandu when it fell off the Prithvi Highway. The vehicle tumbled down a mountainside before coming to rest on the banks of the Trishuli River near Benighat, about 80 kilometres west of Kathmandu, reports AP.
Authorities said dozens of passengers were on board at the time of the crash. Among those killed was a 24-year-old British citizen, according to the Dhading district police office. So far, nine of the deceased have been identified.
Those injured include a Chinese national, who is being treated at the National Trauma Centre in Kathmandu, and a 27-year-old woman from New Zealand who sustained minor injuries and is receiving treatment at a local hospital.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency, quoting the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, reported earlier that another Chinese national remained missing.
Rescue teams reached the scene shortly after the accident and pulled survivors from the wreckage before transporting them to nearby hospitals, said government administrator Mohan Prasad Neupane.
Police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.
Road accidents involving buses are frequent in Nepal, often attributed to poor road conditions and inadequate vehicle maintenance. The mountainous Himalayan nation relies heavily on narrow, winding roads for transportation.
The bus came to rest along the bank of the fast-flowing Trishuli River. In 2024, two buses carrying 65 passengers plunged into the same river, with most of those on board either killed or still missing. The wreckage of one of the buses was recovered this year after being buried deep under sand.
