7 dead as a pilgrimage bus overturns into a gorge in Nepal

Seven people have died and another seven have been seriously injured after a mini-bus carrying Indian devotees plunged about 200 feet into a gorge in Nepal's Gorkha district. The accident occurred last Saturday night while they were returning after worshipping at the famous Manakamana Temple in Gandaki Province.

Police in the country state that this electric bus, which was traveling from Manakamana Temple towards Ambukhaireni in Tanahun district, skidded off the road and met with this tragedy.

All those who died in the accident are Indian nationals, including two women and five men. As confirmed by the Gorkha District Traffic Police Office, the deceased have been identified as Muthu Kumar (58), Anamalick (58), Meenakshi (59), Shivagami (53), Vijayal (57), Meena (58), and Thamilarasi (60). More than twelve passengers were traveling in this bus, and the seven injured passengers have been admitted to Chitwan Medical College in Bharatpur for further treatment. According to The Himalayan Times, the bus driver escaped unharmed, but his assistant was injured. Rescue operations continued until midnight on the day of the accident, and police are currently investigating whether there were any other contributing factors to the accident.

Previously, on February 23, a bus carrying 44 tourists traveling from Pokhara to Kathmandu plunged 200 meters into a gorge in Nepal's Dhading district, killing 19 people and injuring 25. Among those who died in that accident were a 24-year-old British national, a 40-year-old Chinese woman, and a 32-year-old Indian national. According to a World Bank study, the economic loss due to road accidents in Nepal has tripled since 2007, now accounting for about 1.5 percent of the country's GDP. The report also indicates that over 70 percent of those killed in road accidents are vulnerable individuals such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

Mountainous geography, poor and narrow roads, bad weather, earthquakes, and limitations in the transportation system are the main factors contributing to the high incidence of road accidents in Nepal. Many parts of the country are mountainous and difficult, with deep gorges and slopes along the roadsides, and safety barriers are not even built in many places. Additionally, heavy rainfall during monsoon seasons frequently causes landslides and road damage, and the instability of the terrain due to being an earthquake-prone zone also contributes to this. Factors such as overloading vehicles with passengers, the use of old vehicles, and drivers lacking sufficient training for driving on mountainous roads have further increased the risk of these road accidents.