DHADING, August 10: The death toll in the road accident that took place at Benighatrorang rural municipality-3, when a passenger bus plunged into the Trishuli river, has reached eight.
However, only two of them have been identified so far. The identity of a woman, a girl child and four men who died in the accident is not yet known, according to police. The passenger bus (Na. 6 Kha. 7469) heading towards Kathmandu from Malangawa of Sarlahi had fallen off the road into the river some 100 meters below on Friday morning.
Ramechhap Bus Accident: Death toll rises to nine
Three of the passengers died on the spot, according to Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Baidawar. Two of the bodies were recovered from the Munglin area of Chitwan. One man from near Krishnabhir and one at Devghat of Chitwan.
The identified ones are Ajaya Das,35, and Bijaya Kurmi,25, of Sarlahi. The bus was reportedly carrying 42 passengers including the driver, conduct and assistant. More than 20 passengers are still missing, while 16 of the injured are undergoing treatment in Kathmandu and other hospitals nearby.
Some of the passengers swam to safety while some were lucky to have survived after being thrown out of the bus, as it plummeted into the swollen river. A search for the missing passengers, suspected to have been swept away by the river, is underway, SP Baidawar said.
