At least 11 people, including a child and four women, died and 10 others were injured when a passenger bus plunged into the Madi river in Tanahun along Prithvi Highway on Saturday. Most of the injured are reportedly in critical condition. The ill-fated minibus (Na 4 Kha 4684) swerved off a bridge and plunged into the flooded river. The incident site is about 500 metres west of Damauli Bazaar. Security personnel of Nepal Army (NA), Nepal Police and the local people rescued the injured with the help of ropes from the river. They fished out the bodies from the vehicle which has been submerged in water. The NA personnel from nearby Keshavjung Company reached the incident site immediately after the incident and rescued the victims. Superintendent of Police Dev Bahadur Bohara said that the rescue work was very difficult as the bus fell into the middle of the swollen river. Among those killed, Aayush Thapa of about six years of age, Muna Thapa and Tika Maya Thapa have been identified. The identities of other victims are yet to be ascertained, said police. According to eyewitnesses, the speeding vehicle veered off the bridge as the driver tried to save some children walking in the middle of the bridge. “I heard the passengers crying. The bus crashed through a guardrail and fell into the river some 25 metres below,” said Sumitra Achchhami, 15, who witnessed the incident.The bus was en route to Muglin from Pokhara. It is not immediately known about the exact number of passengers on board when the accident took place. It is suspected that some passengers could have been missing in the flooding river. Seven of the injured were rushed to Manipal Teaching Hospital in Pokhara, while the others are receiving treatment at various hospitals in Damauli, the district headquarters of Tanahun.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 10:39:41 +0000
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