At least 35 people died and more than 50 others were injured, some critically, in a bus accident at Ramche VDC-3 on the Pasang Lhamu Highway in Rasuwa district on Tuesday.

The incident site is about 11km south from Dhunche, the district headquarters of Rasuwa.

The overcrowded bus (Na 3 Kha 5706) belonging to Pasang Lhamu Bus Entrepreneurs’ Committee skidded off the road and fell some 150 metres. The vehicle was torn into pieces as it somersaulted in the rocky terrain.

The bus had left for Chilime in Rasuwa from Kathmandu at 6:30am. There were about 70 people on board, said police. However, witnesses said there were around 100 passengers on the bus. According to police, 29 people died on the spot while six others succumbed to injuries later. Among the deceased, 22 are male and 13 female. Police had identified only three deceased by late in the evening.

Forty-seven seriously injured passengers were taken to the Capital while nine others are receiving care at Rasuwa District Hospital.

Personnel from Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, along with locals, reached the incident site immediately and rescued the victims.

Shiva Acharya of Laharepauwa, an injured, said he survived by jumping off the bus roof. He sustained injuries in his face and legs.

“The bus had been lurching as it passed through Grang village. It veered towards the edge as it approached the landslide. I jumped off the bus,” said Birman Tamang, who sustained head injuries.

Chief District Officer Shibaram Gelal blamed overload caused by the fuel crisis, and poor conditions of the road and the vehicle, as well as reckless driving, for the disaster. Parts of the road were damaged by landslides.

PM expresses grief

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his grief at the loss of lives in Tuesday’s bus accident in Rasuwa. Issuing a press note immediately after reports about the accident, PM’s Press Adviser Pramod Dahal said the PM had instructed the local administration to spare no effort in the rescue and treatment of injured passengers. The prime minister extended his condolence to the bereaved families. (PR)