Kathmandu, January 4

Two persons, including an infant, were killed in separate road accidents in Kathmandu Valley yesterday.

According to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, three-month-old Khushi Ghyawa Tamang of Kavre district

died after she fell into the ground from the grip of her elder sister Ghyawa Tamang, 11, who was carrying the infant, as a van hit her in Pandu Bazar of Bhaktapur. She died while undergoing treatment at Riddhi Memorial Hospital.

MTPD said Laxmi was also injured in the accident and is receiving treatment. Police have arrested the van driver.

In a separate accident, Prem Bahadur Gurung, 26, of Lamjung died after being hit

by a motorcycle in Gongabu. The biker had fled the scene leaving the motorcycle. Police said they were searching for the absconder.

According to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, as many as 57 persons were killed and 1,719 others injured in a total of 2,477 road accidents recorded in the Valley from mid-July to mid-December. Pedestrians and motorcyclists account for nearly 40 per cent of all road fatalities in the Valley. As many as 181 persons were killed and 4,115 injured, 201 critically, in 5,530 road accidents last fiscal.

The accidents have been attributed to drivers’ negligence and human errors, drink driving, mechanical problems, speeding, rampant overtaking and pedestrians’ faults.