The bus (Lu 1 Kha 7051), which was heading for Kathmandu from Butwal, fell into the river near Simle in Mahadevsthan VDC of Dhading district at around 4 a.m. [break]
Among the dead are 10 men and two women. Only 10 of the dead have been identified so far. The police were still trying to ascertain the identities of the rest two dead till Tuesday evening.
The identified deceased include Balaram Chaudhary, of Kopuwa VDC-4 in Kapilvastu; Abodh Kumar Chaudhari, 34, of Kopuwa VDC-8; Ram Milan Chaudhari, of Kopuwa VDC-6; Mohan Nagarkoti, 22, of Rudrapur VDC-2, Rupandehi; Parbati Gharti Magar, 70, of Tamghas VDC-3 in Gulmi; Sushila Gharti Magar of Butwal; Phanindra Subedi, 29, of Manpakadi VDC-4; Ranjana Thapa, 30, of Butwal Municipality-6 in Rupandehi; Sher Bahadur Thapa, 36, of Butwal Municipality-15; and Keshav Sharu, 19, of Dhikur VDC-19 of Arghakhanchi.
Police have recovered an ATM card owned by Bishnu Bahadur Saru of Parsa district from one of the two unidentified dead.
The bus, operated by Paschim Nepal Yatayat Company, which was carrying over 40 passengers to Kathmandu, fell about 50 meters from the road. A preliminary investigation by police has revealed that the bus slipped off the road as the driver was dousing at the wheel.
The bus was speeding says survivor
"We were deep asleep when the bus fell off the road. I heard a loud noise and before I could figure out what had happened, I found myself in the river," recounted Milan Hitan, 15, a member of U-16 national football squad from the bed of Star Hospital, Sanepa.
"I saw passengers screaming, some were trapped in the bus and the injured were crying for the help. My first instinct was to search for my friends Ranjan Thapa, Sagar Pariyar and Samrat Blon Tamang, with whom I played football for four years.
It was still dark but managed to find Samrat and Sagar who had both sustained serious injuries. I dragged them out of the water. Despite my search, I couldn´t find Rajan and I now hear that he is no more. We were residing at ANFA complex in Kathmandu for the past one year for training. Prior to that we were at ANFA´s complex at Butwal. We had gone to Butwal to sit for SLC supplementary examination.
Ranjan was a good player and had also played in Subroto Cup Tournament in India. We also played in District Development Committee Cup and PABSON tournament . We were preparing for our next tournament which the officials say will be in Japan. But I am not sure of my participation now. My other two colleagues are in critical state.
Before police reached the incident site, locals come for rescue. Condition of my friends were deteriorating so I sought help from the villagers to carry them to road but they did not listen. I tried to carry them but I could not. Later stretchers arrived and we were brought up to the road. Later, I heard 11 people died on the spot. The bus was speeding and I suspect the driver might have fallen asleep at the time of the accident.
Sagar Pariyar of Syanjha was referred to Annapurna Nursing Home at Maitighar. And Samrat Blon was admitted in ICU of Martyr Memorial Hospital.
(As told to Arjun Poudel Republica)
The ill-fated bus. (Photo: Rameshwor Karki)
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