KATHMANDU – At least 27 people were killed and 16 others injured when a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims drove off a key highway and crashed on Friday in Nepal, officials said.
The bus veered off Prithvi Highway and rolled toward a fast-flowing river. Its roof was ripped open before stopping on the rocky bank just shy of the Marsyangdi's rushing, murky water.
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Rescue workers recovered 27 bodies from the wreckage and flew the 16 injured to the capital Kathmandu for treatment, according to Armed Police Force spokesperson Shailendra Thapa.
The wreckage was found near Abukhaireni, a town about 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu and the river. It would be removed only on Saturday as it was already dark and recovery was difficult, Thapa said.
There were 43 people on board the bus and all of them were Indian nationals, confirmed the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. The embassy also said the bus fell about 150 meters (500 feet) from the highway, and they were coordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue operations.
The bus from the neighboring Indian town of Gorakhpur was heading toward Kathmandu from the resort town of Pokhara on Friday when it drove off the highway midway through the journey.
Tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims from neighboring India visit Nepal every year to visit Hindu shrines. Nepal is a Hindu-majority country. Local news reports said the pilgrims on the bus were also heading toward Kathmandu to visit the Pashupatinath, the revered temple of Hindu god Shiva.
In July, two buses were swept by landslides not too far from Friday's accident site. Of the 65 people on board those two buses, only three survived and only about half the bodies were recovered. The wreckage of those buses has not been found yet but authorities have continued to search.
The Monsoon season that begins in June and stretches up to September brings heavy rainfall to Nepal triggering landslides and flooding. The heavy rainfall also swells the rivers and adds speed to the generally fast-flowing rivers due to the mountainous terrain. The season also turns rivers murky brown, making any search mission difficult.
Rescuers used divers, scanners and even heavy magnets to try to locate the wreckage but no traces were found.
Bus accidents in Nepal are mostly due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles and much of the country is covered by mountains with narrow roads.