KATHMANDU: At least 23 people were injured after a passenger bus veered off the road and plunged around 100 metres down a hillside along the Dasharath Chand Highway in Baitadi district on Friday afternoon. The accident occurred at Gairakhan in Patan Municipality-9 when the bus (Su.Pa.Pr.01-001 Kha 3963), which was travelling from Dhangadhi to Baitadi, lost control at around 3:30 pm, according to Nepal Police. A police team from the Baitadi Police Post and the Area Police Office, Patan, was immediately deployed to the accident site and carried out rescue operations. Police said seven of the injured, whose condition is reported to be serious, have been referred to Dhangadhi for advanced treatment. They have been identified as Deepak BK, 31; Janak Prasad Pant, 43; Ramdatta Pandey, 46; Siddhartha Bhandari, 11; bus driver Dinesh Bhat, 31; Mohan Pant, 31; and Dhana Pahari, 35, all residents of Patan Municipality in Baitadi. The remaining injured passengers are undergoing treatment at Dadeldhura Hospital. Police said the cause of the accident has yet to be ascertained, and further investigation is underway.