KATHMANDU: At least 19 Nepal Police personnel were injured when a mini truck they were aboard skidded off the road and fell into a gorge at Danchhi in Kathmandu today morning, said the police.

The speeding vehicle -- Ba 1 Ga 2174 -- was escorting the motorcade of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal heading for Sankhu to inaugurate Sankhu Mahotsav when the incident occurred on a serpentine road near Gokarna Resort. "Of the injured, seven cops, including two policewomen have been referred to Nepal Police Hospital at Maharajgunj. Twelve others are undergoing treatment at Shankarapur Hospital in Jorpati," said DSP Lal Mani Acharya, Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka.

Some of the injured have sustained head injury, while others have broken their limbs. Four of the injured are said to be in critical condition. The cause of the mishap is said to be brake failure of the vehicle.