At least 27 Indian pilgrims were killed and 16 others injured after a tourist bus plunged into a river in Nepal.
Rescuers struggled against the raging Marsyangdi River to pull passengers out of the water. Sixteen injured persons have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital
“Out of 43, in total 27 people have died,” Tanahun district official Janardan Gautam said. Authorities said that all the people who boarded the bus were Indians who had stayed in Pokhara the night before and were heading to Kathmandu.
“The bus bearing number plate UP (Uttar Pradesh) FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the bank of the river,” a senior police official said.
The passengers were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation.
They came from Bhusal village in Jalgaon district. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning.
A list of names of the 43 passengers who were in the ill-fated bus has been released.
the Uttar Pradesh government has sent a Sub Divisional Magistrate to the incident site. An ADM has also been appointed to coordinate the relief work.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the loss of lives and said the Indian Embassy is providing all possible assistance to those affected.
Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal.
The bodies from the two buses were washed away down the Trishuli River as far as 100 kilometres.
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