Bus plunges into river; 12 killed

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

DHADINGBESI: Twelve persons were killed and 19 injured when a bus en route to Kathmandu from Butwal veered off the road in Kamere of Bhumesthan VDC, Dhading, along Prithvi Highway and plunged 150 meters down into Maheshkhola, early this morning.

Deceased have been identified as Balaram Chaudhary (23) of Kopawa, Kapilvastu , Mohan Nagarkoti (22) of Rudrapur, Rupandehi, Parbati Gharti (55) of Tamghas, Gulmi, Phadindra Subedi (29) of Manapakadi, Rupandehi, Sushil Gharti (25) and Sher Bahadur Thapa of Butwal, Ranjan Thapa, an under-14 football player of Pokhara, Keshav Saru of Arghakhanchi, Awadh Kishor Chaudhary of Kapilvastu and Ramlin Chaudhary of Rupandehi. DSP Govinda Regmi of Dhading District Police Office said 10 people died on the spot while Awadh and Keshav died while undergoing treatment in Kathmandu's Kalanki-based Shahid Memorial Hospital.

Two of the deceased were yet to be identified. Bodies of those identified have been kept in Primary Health Centre, Gajuri.

Army and police personnel, along with Highway Accident rescuers and locals, carried out the rescue operation.

Among those injured, nine are undergoing treatment in Lalitpur-based Star Hospital while others are being treated in Kalanki-based Shahid Memorial Hospital.

DSP Regmi said the passengers alleged that the accident occurred after the driver fell asleep. The bus was carrying 53 passengers.

In another accident, three persons were and three injured when a tipper heading east from Inaruwa hit a motorcycle coming from the same direction and a United Nations vehicle coming from the opposite direction in Sunsari headquarters Inaruwa, Sakhuwagachhi, at 12 noon.

Motorcycle rider Briddha Man Jain, an Indian national residing in Inaruwa and Bijay Kumar Sharma (45) of Biratnagar died on the spot while UN vehicle's driver Radhe Shyam Thapa of Kathmandu died while undergoing treatment in district hospital, Inaruwa.

U-14 footballer among dead

KATHMANDU: Footballer Ranjan Thapa of Pokhara was killed while his three ANFA Academy teammates were injured in Dhading bus plunge. Ranjan, a-14 year old defender from Lamachaur, Pokhara, died on the spot, while Sagar Pariyar, Milan Hitang and Samrat Blon sustained injuries. Sagar -- who hails from Waling, Syangja -- is critical and undergoing treatment at the Annapurna Neurological Hospital in Maitighar. Milan and Samrat are in stable condition. The four players were members of the national squad that participated in the AFC U-14 Festival of Football in Kathmandu in May. All the players -- who were selected to the ANFA Academy from its Butwal wing -- were returning to the capital after taking supplementary SLC examinations in Butwal.