Wedding joy turns to tragedy: 13 Killed as bus plummets into ravine on India-Nepal border
Kathmandu (The Uttam Hindu): A heartbreaking accident occurred on Thursday night in Nepal's Baitadi district, adjacent to the India-Nepal border, turning the joy of a wedding into a moment of mourning. A bus carrying wedding guests from Baitadi to Bajhang lost control and fell into a deep ravine. In this horrific accident, 13 wedding guests tragically died, while 34 others were injured. Many of the injured are in critical condition and have been referred to higher centers for treatment.
The bus carrying the bride fell 150 meters downhill
The accident occurred on Thursday night when the bus had just left the village of Bhavne in Purchuni Municipality-7 of Baitadi with the bride and was heading to Sunkuda in Bajhang. On the way, near the Badgaon turn of Purchuni, the bus lost its balance on a steep climb and a curve. The bus skidded off the road and fell into a 150-meter-deep ravine. Due to it being night time, panic ensued. Police Inspector Baldev Badu, spokesperson of the District Police Office, Baitadi, said that upon receiving the information, the Nepal APF, police and local villagers carried out a rescue operation in the dark and pulled the injured out of the ravine.
Overloading proved fatal, the bus could not climb the hill
Preliminary investigations suggest the accident was caused by the bus being overloaded. It's being reported that the bus was carrying a large number of wedding guests. Due to the heavy load, the bus was unable to climb the steep incline near the Badgaon turn, rolling backwards and falling into a ditch. According to a police spokesperson, six people died on the spot, while five others died at Dadeldhura Hospital and two others died during treatment at Kotila Hospital.
They lost their lives, including a 13-year-old child
The tragedy has devastated many families. Among the dead is a 13-year-old boy, Ashok Raj Joshi. The deceased have been identified as Keshav Raj Joshi (40), Basant Raj Joshi (35), Vishnu Dutt Joshi (41), Naresh Raj Joshi (42), Bishan Dutt Joshi (17), Deepak Joshi (28), Kishan Joshi (46), Mohan Dev Bhatt (60), Keshav Bhatt (27), Basant Raj Ratla (40), Pushpa Awasthi (40), and Sushil Joshi.
The seriously injured were referred to Dhangadhi
Hospitals are also in a state of panic following the accident. Twenty-five injured wedding guests are being treated at Dadeldhura Hospital. Five people, whose condition is extremely critical, have been referred to Dhangadhi for better treatment. The administration is monitoring the situation and the process of handing over the bodies of the deceased to their families after postmortems is underway.