4 injured as car ploughs into crowd in Damauli

DAMAULI: At least four persons were injured after a car ploughed through the crowd in Damauli Bazaar of Byas Municipality-4 in Tanahun district on Monday morning.

The injured have been identified as pedestrians Shyam Prasad Regmi (33) of Dhading district, Guras Ale (9) of Byas Municipality-14, Hari Maya Ale (29) of Benikot in Byas Municipality-13 and a car driver Sujan Shrestha (33) of Kathmandu.

According to police, the incident occurred when the speeding car (Ba 9 Cha 4443) lost control and ploughed through the crowd in the middle of the market in Damauli and collided head-on with a bus ( Na 6 Kha 7211) en route from Pokhara to Sunauli, injuring three persons.

Police said that the car hit the crowd of people on the road before driving on wrong side, subsequently colliding head-on with a bus. The preliminary investigation points to poor visibility due to thick fog as the cause of the incident, informed police.

Among the injured, Ale who was said to be in critical condition was rushed to the Damauli-based National Apollo Hospital  from where she was referred to the Pokhara-based Gandaki Hospital, informed the District Police Office (DPO), Tanahun. Two others injured in the incident are undergoing treatment in local Ratnahari Hospital.

Meanwhile, both car and bus have been impounded and the driver of the bus has been detained for further investigation, while the search is on for the car driver who escaped from the Ratnahari Hospital after receiving first aid.