Gaighat, October 31

Preliminary investigation has shown that brake failure of the vehicle caused the accident in Thanti, along the Siddhicharan Highway road section in Udaypur yesterday.

Police, quoting an eyewitness said that the vehicle fell into a rivulet due to brake failure. DSP Mahendra Shrestha, quoting the eyewitness, said the driver hit the brakes but in vain.

Ward-11 Chair Dipak Budhathoki of Katari Municipality said the road at the accident site was too narrow and there was no space for other vehicles to pass. “Landslides occur every year at this particular place and it is prone to accidents,” he added.

The accident site was 35 kilometre away from Katari. DSP Shrestha said locals and security personnel tried their best to take out the bodies and rescue the injured. The accident occurred at around 1:30pm yesterday.

As many as nine persons lost their lives. Police said eight persons died on the spot while the driver died in the course of treatment at Katari Hospital. Police said critically injured Kumari Bhitrikoti, 18, of Baruneshwor Rural Municipality in Okhaldhunga is receiving treatment at Kathmandu Medical College.

According to SP Nawaraj Bhatta at District Police Office, Udayapur, a three-year-old girl, who was stuck in the branches of a tree, was handed over to Goma Rai, a local,  after the primary treatment at Katari Hospital.

The girl was rescued with a rope. Anuja Rai, mother of the rescued girl from Bashikhugadhi Rural Municipality died in the accident. Police said the bodies were kept at Katari Hospital.