27 Indian pilgrims die in Nepal bus mishap

Kathmandu, August 23

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At least 27 Indian pilgrims, who had arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra on a 10-day tour, were killed and 16 others injured after a tourist bus veered off the highway and fell into the Marsyangdi river in central Nepal on Friday, the police said.

The incident occurred in the Anbookhaireni area of Chitawan district when the bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, carrying 43 persons, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara. While 16 persons died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, deputy spokesperson for the Armed Police Force Shailendra Thapa said.

The 16 injured had been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he said. According to a news portal, the passengers on board the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims, who had arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago on a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation.

They came from Bhusal village in Jalgaon district. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses had left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning.