Rajbiraj, October 28

Locals of Boriya and Tilathi village in Saptari are mourning the death of 31 persons, including eight members of a family, who were killed when a bus plungedinto the Trishuli River in Dhading today morning.

The victims were returning to Kathmandu after celebrating Chhath.

As this report was being prepared, 15 bodies of persons from Saptari were recovered.

Eight members of Madan Jha’s family from Boriya lost their lives. Police said six persons from other places of the district were killed.

Madan’s sister-in-law Chandrawati Jha (70), her son Aditya Jha (22), daughter Puja (20), Madan’s daughter Simi (28), son-in-law Sanjit Jha (30), Sanjit’s brother Anjit (26), Madan’s grandsons Abhinab (5), and Pratik (3), had died.

Jha said his son-in-law Sanjit, chief at the loan department of Nepal Bank in Chabahil, Kathmandu, had insisted on taking all the family members for a visit to Kathmandu. “The sudden demise of relatives with whom we enjoyed till yesterday has made me feel the world has collapsed,” Madan said.

According to Saptari Police, 15 persons including Naresh Mukhiya, Rekha Pranami, Sushant Chaudhary, Ramananda Yadav, Aditya Yadav, Parbati Chaudhary from different places of Saptari were killed. “It will take time for the exact details to emerge,” police said.