Six persons including the parents and nephew of a bridegroom died on the spot when a jeep returning after the wedding ceremony collided head on with a passenger bus at Rihar of Lamahi Municipality-9 in Dang district along the East-West Highway early Thursday morning.
The Mahindra Scorpio Jeep (Ba 12 Cha 3122) heading to Shumshergunj of Banke district after the wedding in Gitanagar in Chitwan and the bus (Na 5 Kha 4090) on its route to Kathmandu from Mahendranagar collided at around 1:30 in the morning killing six people on the spot and injuring two others.
The deceased have been identified as the parents of bridegroom Man Bahadur KC, 53, and Bimala KC, 45, and nephew Prabin KC, five, of Shumshergunj in Raptisonari Rural Municipality-8, Banke, Bishwanath Adhikari, 49, and Dipak Kumar Khadka, 31, also from the same place and Dutta Bahadur Khatri, 78, of Kohalpur municipality-13, according to Sub-inspector at the Ward Police Office, Lamahi Puran Malla.
Jeep driver Yam Bahadur Rana, 21, and Geeta Devi Khatri, 45, both from Shumshergunj have sustained injuries in the accident. Khatri is currently out of danger but driver Rana is in critical condition. They are undergoing treatment at Kohalpur Medical College, according to the police.
The bride and groom, who were returning in another vehicle, are safe. “We have learnt that the parents and a few relatives wanted to reach home a little early to make arrangements for the returning guests in the wedding procession. The bride and groom were travelling a bit slowly in another vehicle,” Sub-inspector Malla revealed.