Pokhara, July 1

As many as 233 persons have lost their lives in road accidents in the last 11 months of this fiscal in Gandaki Province.

Police said 233 persons died and 775 were injured in 417 road accidents that took place till mid-June of the running fiscal in the province.

Last year, 333 persons died due to road accidents in the province.

Gandaki Province Traffic Police Chief Birendra Basyal said the condition of roads, errant pedestrians, negligence on the part of vehicle drivers, drunk driving, overloaded vehicles and overtaking were chief reasons for accidents.

As many as 247 motorcycles, 118 passenger buses, 74 trucks and jeeps had met with accidents till mid-June.

Basyal added that youths were found involved in the maximum number of road accidents. Data with Gandaki Province Traffic Police showed 193 persons falling in the age group of 16 to 25 had met with accidents this fiscal. Likewise, 278 road accident cases involved people above 40 years of age.

Cases of roads accidents are alarmingly increasing across the country, of late.