National
4 dead, 16 hurt in Palpa jeep crash
Four people were killed and 16 others injured when a jeep veered off a road at Shreedanda in Dobhan-4 of Palpa district on Monday night.Madhav Aryal
Four people were killed and 16 others injured when a jeep veered off a road at Shreedanda in Dobhan-4 of Palpa district on Monday night.
Condition of four is said to be critical. The ill-fated vehicle (Lu 1 Ja 2689), carrying 20 people including the driver, tumbled around 100 metres down while climbing a rough and steep road at around 8pm. It is suspected that brake failure caused the accident.
The incident site is about 30km south of Tansen, the district headquarters of Palpa.
Police have identified the deceased as Yam Bahadur Gaha, 26, Jasbir Bakabal, 41, Min Bahadur Thapa, 31 and Hari Prasad Rana, 42, of Dobhan-2. Two died on the spot while two others succumbed to injuries while being rushed to hospital, said police.
Two critically injured passengers have been referred to Kathmandu and as many are receiving treatment at Universal Medical College in Bhairahawa.
The victims are members of Panchebaja, a local band. The band members were returning home after attending a wedding at Shreedanda. All the deceased and injured are from the same village.
“It was around 8pm. All of a sudden the driver said the brakes were no working. We were on a steep road. In no time, the jeep hit a wall and skidded off the road,” said Krishna Bahadur Thapa who survived the accident.
According to him, the villagers had hired the jeep to go to Shreedanda.
Thapa ruled out drunk driving, saying Bimal Darlami, the driver, “is from our village and he does not drink.”