27 Indian pilgrims killed, 16 injured as tourist bus plunges into river in Nepal

Kathmandu: At least 27 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra for a 10-day tour were killed and 16 others injured after a tourist bus veered off the highway and fell into fast-flowing Marsyangdi river in central Nepal on Friday, police said.

The incident occurred at Anbookhaireni area in Chitawan district when the bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh carrying 43 passengers, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara.

While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of Armed Police Force (APF) Shailendra Thapa told PTI.

Sixteen people who sustained injuries have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he said.

The dead bodies will be handed over to their family members after postmortem, Thapa said, adding that the postmortem will be conducted on Saturday at Western Regional Health Science Academy in Pokhara.

The bus with an Uttar Pradesh number plate that fell around 150 metre down the hilly road is still lying in the bank of Marsyangdi river and will be lifted with the help of a crane on Saturday, he said.

Thapa said 250 security personnel, including from Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, were mobilised for rescue works. Twin rope was used to conduct the rescue operation as the accident site lies in a deep and narrow gorge near the Marsyangdi River, he said.

The reason for the accident is not yet known. The accident site lies in the national highway some 90 km west of Kathmandu.

According to a report in MyRepublica news portal, the passengers onboard the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation.

They came from Bhusal village in Jalgaon district. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning.

Madhav Pad Paudel, chief of the Armed Police Force (APF), Kurintar, said that most of the passengers travelling in these three buses were families and relatives.

A list of names of the 43 passengers who were in the ill-fated bus has been released.

"An Indian tourist bus travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu with around 43 Indians fell 150 metres into Marshyandi River today," the Embassy of India said in a post on X.

The mission is coordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue.

The bus that fell on the river bank was badly damaged.

An MI 17 helicopter of the Nepal Army was deployed to transport injured passengers from the accident site at Anbu Khaireni in Tanahun district with a medical team for the rescue operation, MyRepublica reported.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government has sent a Sub Divisional Magistrate to the incident site. An ADM has also been appointed to coordinate the relief work.

Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar in a press statement said, "As per media reports and further confirmed from the MEA Nepal Division, today at about 11:30 am, a bus with registration number - UP 53 FD 7623 carrying approx 43 passengers from Maharashtra, including the driver and one assistant, fell around 150 metres into river Marshyandi in Ambukhereni region in the Tanahu District of Nepal.”

The statement added, "The UP government has sent SDM Maharajganj to the incident site. The MEA is coordinating the search and rescue operations with local authorities."

Nepal's rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage.

Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country.

Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal.

The bodies from the two buses were washed away down the Trishuli River as far as 100 kilometres.

Extensive search operations, including the deployment of a 12-member team from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have not yet located the two missing buses and many passengers swept away by the landslide. The bodies of five Indian nationals have been recovered so far while two are still missing.