The death toll from a bus accident that occurred in Dhading early Monday has risen to 18 after one of the injured passengers died during treatment.
According to Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar Bhattarai of the District Police Range, Kathmandu, a 32-year-old man died while undergoing treatment at National Trauma Center in Kathmandu. His identity has not yet been established.
Twenty-three injured passengers were brought to Kathmandu after the accident. Among them, 10 were taken to National Hospital in Kalanki and 13 to National Trauma Center.
The bus (registration number Ga 2 Kha 1421) was traveling from Pokhara to Kathmandu when it fell from the Prithvi Highway section at Bhainsigauda, Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality-5 in Dhading, and crashed into the banks of the Trishuli River around 1:30 a.m. on Monday.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Shailendra Thapa, joint spokesperson for Armed Police Force Nepal, there were 45 passengers on board. Seventeen of them – 11 women and 6 men – died at the scene, while 28 others were injured.
According to police, the deceased also include two foreign nationals.
The remaining injured are undergoing treatment at local hospitals.
The bus, belonging to Machhapuchchhre Travels, had departed from Pokhara at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
The identities of the deceased have not yet been confirmed.
