At least 19 people, including a United Kingdom national, were killed after a passenger bus plunged off a hilly road in western Nepal before dawn on Monday, police said.
The bus, carrying 44 passengers, was travelling from the tourist town of Pokhara to the capital Kathmandu when it fell about 200 metres (650 feet) from the road at Behighat in Dhading district, around 80 kilometres west of Kathmandu.
Police said only nine of the dead had been identified so far. Among the 25 injured were a New Zealand citizen and a China national. All injured passengers were taken to hospitals in Kathmandu for treatment.
“Out of 44 passengers, 19 died and 25 are undergoing treatment,” senior local police officer Prakash Dahal said, confirming that one British citizen was among the victims.
Mohan Prasad Neupane, information officer at the district administration office, said rescue operations were completed by dawn. “The injured are receiving medical care,” he added.
Road accidents are frequent in Nepal, where steep terrain, narrow highways and poor road conditions contribute to deadly crashes. Hundreds of people die in traffic accidents across the country every year.
In July 2024, two buses carrying more than 50 passengers were swept into a river after a landslide on a highway. Earlier this month, another bus carrying a wedding party plunged off a mountain road in western Nepal, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens more.
