Kathmandu, Feb 10 (IANS) At least 12 people were killed after a passenger bus plunged into the Tamakoshi River from the road in the Machanetar area of Ramechhap district in central Nepal, police said on Tuesday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhola Kumar Bhatta, chief of Ramechhap District Police Office told IANS that 12 people lost their lives in the accident, which occurred at around 11 am. “Eight people were injured, and seven of them have been sent to Kathmandu for further treatment due to serious injuries,” he said.
According to Bhatta, the bus driver lost control and the vehicle plunged about 100 metres down from the road into the river. The bus, which had departed from Kathmandu for Pokali in Okhaldhunga, fell into the Tamakoshi River while en route to its destination.
The District Administration Office, Ramechhap, said that six bodies were recovered from the accident site, while six others died during treatment.
Police said it is not immediately clear how many passengers were on board, but Bhatta said authorities believe about two dozen people were travelling in the ill-fated bus.
Following the accident, a rescue operation involving local police units, the Armed Police Force, and the local office of the Disaster Management Division was launched.
With the rise in the number of vehicles on the roads and improved road connectivity across the country, Nepal has witnessed a steady increase in road accidents in recent years.
According to the Traffic Police Office, 4,999 road accidents were reported a decade ago. In the fiscal year 2024–25, the country recorded 7,669 road accidents and 190 deaths, of which 278 accidents were classified as serious.
Apart from the enormous human toll, road safety also has a major economic impact. A World Bank study in 2020 showed that the economic cost of road traffic injuries in Nepal has increased threefold since 2007 and is equivalent to 1.5 percent of the gross national product. Road crashes also have a devastating and disproportionate impact on the poor.
--IANS
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