At least 12 killed, dozens missing in Nepal bus accident

Sep 10, 2009, 9:20 GMT

   Kathmandu - At least 12 people were confirmed killed and dozens more were injured or missing Thursday after an overcrowded passenger bus plunged into a river in central Nepal, official media reports said.

   The accident happened in Sindhupalchowk district, 70 kilometres north-east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, government-owned Nepal Television (NTV) reported.

   NTV quoted police as saying the bus fell about 40 metres off a mountain highway and plunged into the fast-flowing Sunkoshi River.

   Rescuers recovered 12 bodies and were searching for dozens of others who remain missing.

   Police said six of the bodies were recovered about 10 kilometres downriver.

   The bus, on its way to Kathmandu, was reportedly carrying as many as 50 people when the accident happened.

   Survivors told police that passengers were travelling on the roof as there was no room for them inside the bus. Four people survived the crash after they were thrown out of the vehicle as it hurtled down the hill, the television station quoted the police as saying.

   Police said rescue operations were facing difficulties because to heavy monsoon rains in the area caused the river to swell.

   NTV also quoted the police as saying that hopes of finding more survivors were fading fast.

   The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. But police suspect the crowded bus could have been speeding on a narrow and dangerous mountain highway and the driver may have lost control.

   Nepal has a notorious record on road safety. Hundreds of people are killed each year in bus accidents blamed mostly on careless driving and overcrowding.