NEPALGUNJ, JUNE 1

Twelve persons were killed and 21 were injured when a vehicle carrying migrant workers returning from India met with an accident in Thuriya forest of Banke’s Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality last night.

According to District Police Office, the accident occurred when a bus carrying 33 people, including the driver and two helpers, and heading to Salyan from Nepalgunj’s Jamunaha entry point rammed into a truck parked on the roadside at midnight.

While 11 persons died on the spot, one breathed his last while undergoing treatment at Bheri Hospital in Nepalgunj.

Eleven of the victims have been identified.

They are: Buddhiram BK, Bhim Bahadur BK, Dil Bahadur BK, Narendra BK, Mohanchandra BK, Ram Bahadur Pun, Purna Bahadur Pun, Sita Pun, Dan Bahadur Khadka, Pawan Bhandari and Ritesh Khadka.

Six of the deceased are from Salyan, three from Surkhet, two from Dang and one from Rolpa district.

A Nepali Army team brought all the bodies and those injured to Bheri Hospital.

Acting Medical Superintendent Prakash Bahadur Thapa said four of the injured were in critical condition.

Since the victims were returning from India, their swab samples have been sent for COVID-19 test.

Results are expected tomorrow morning.

“The bodies that test negative will be handed over to their kin for final rites. In case any body tests positive, WHO guidelines will be followed to deal with it,” he added.

Police suspect overspeeding to be the cause behind the accident.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on June 2, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.