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At least 27 killed as bus carrying Indian tourists plunges into Nepal river

At least 27 killed as bus carrying Indian tourists plunges into Nepal river

Security force personnel work to rescue injured passengers after a bus carrying Indian passengers traveling to Kathmandu from Pokhara plunged into a river in Tanahun District, Gandaki Province, Nepal August 23, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer

KATHMANDU: A bus carrying 43 Indian tourists and crew members plunged into a rain-swollen river in neighbouring Nepal on Friday (Aug 23), killing more than half of those on board, a Nepali armed police spokesperson said.

A total of 27 people died and 16 were injured in the accident, said spokesperson Shailendra Thapa.

All 41 passengers and two crew members were Indian and had been headed to the capital Kathmandu from the tourist city of Pokhara.

Roads in the mountainous region can challenge drivers as they are often narrow and treacherous, making it tough to manoeuvre large vehicles around hairpin curves.

Rescuers pulled 22 people from the swollen waters of the Marsyangdi river in the Tanahun district, about 118km from Kathmandu, of whom 12 were seriously injured and airlifted to the capital.

At least six people died in hospital, said Thapa.

This photograph provided by Nepal Armed Police Force shows personnel carrying out a rescue operation after a bus carrying Indian pilgrims fell into a river about 118km from Kathmandu on Aug 23, 2024. (Nepal Armed Police Force via AP)

Police and army teams climbed down long metal ladders to reach the river, using ropes to pull out the injured and dead.

Exhausted women and children lay amid debris scattered on the banks of the fast-flowing river as rescuers hauled a nearly fainting child out of danger, video images showed.

India's neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, where passengers had boarded the bus, is sending an official to coordinate rescue efforts, news agency ANI said. 

Source: Reuters/gs

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