Dhading [Nepal], February 23 : Nepal on Monday constituted a five-member task force to investigate a tragic bus accident in Dhading that claimed 19 lives, including a British, an Indian and a Chinese national.
A meeting held at the Home Ministry decided to constitute the panel under the coordination of a joint secretary, mandating it to carry out a detailed probe into the incident and submit a report.
All the 19 people killed when a bus fell 200 metres off the road in Bhaisigauda, Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality in Dhading, have been identified, police said. The bus was heading to Kathmandu from Pokhara when it plunged into the Trishuli riverbanks at around 1:15 AM (local time) on Monday.
"At around 1:20 AM, I got to know that the bus had veered off the road to river embankment. Rescuers were on their way to the site to carry out the operation. The locals also assisted the security forces during the operation, leading them to the site of the incident. I also was one who helped them navigate to the site. Upon reaching the spot, they started their work of search and rescue in the pitch dark," Dhruba Tiwari, a local whose house is about 100 meters from the crash site, told ANI.
The passenger bus (GA2 KHA 1421), en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara, met with the accident at around 1:15 am on Monday along the Prithvi Highway at Bhaisigauda in Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality-5, Dhading.
The vehicle veered off the road and plunged approximately 200 metres down to the banks of the Trishuli River. Of the 44 passengers on board, 19 died and 25 sustained injuries.
"The bus had broken down and was scattered into pieces and was facing upside down. Passengers were all scattered around the slopes (because of the impact). It included the injured as well as the deceased. It was really disheartening when I first reached the impact area," Tiwari added.
Of the 25 injured, 24 passengers are receiving treatment in Kathmandu, with 14 admitted at the National Trauma Centre and 10 at the National Hospital, Kalanki.
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