At least 24 people are feared to have lost their lives when a passenger bus plunged yesterday into a river in mountainous western Nepal, triggering a search operation for any survivors, police said.
The bus, carrying at least 45 passengers, veered off a narrow road in Jajarkot region in the morning, police officer Sher Bahadur Chaudhary said.
“At least two dozen passengers are feared dead,” Chaudhary told hte media.
With the bus completely under water, divers were searching for passengers in the Bheri river as police officers scoured its banks, Jajarkot police chief Dinesh Raj Mainali said.
“Five bodies have been found so far, including those of two children,” Mainali told from the scene.
Police have taken ten injured passengers to a nearby hospital for treatment, he said.
Police official Chaudhary said he feared the number of people on board may have been higher than the official passenger list since drivers often pick up extra travellers along the route without registering them.
