ITAHARI: Five persons were killed and over 60 injured when a commuter minibus turned turtle at Hanuman Temple in Bhantabari, Sunsari, along a section of East-West highway today.

The overcrowded and speeding Janakpur-bound bus of the Matribhagya Rekha Travels met with the accident after the driver lost control of the vehicle.

The District Police office, Sunsari, said four persons died on the spot, while one died undergoing treatment in a hospital.

Two of the dead have been identified as 15-year-old Manoj Shrestha and Saiyad Miya, while the other two are yet to be identified.

Critically injured 26-year-old Shailendra Chaudhari died undergoing treatment in the District Hospital Inaruwa.

Among the injured, 36 are undergoing treatment in the BP Koirala Institute of Health Science in Dharan, 13 in Biratnagar and six in the district hospital in Inaruwa. The condition of four in Dharan and two in Biratnagar is critical, the police said. Six more injured returned home after first aid.

According to one of the injured, the overcrowded bus fell some 50 metres down the road near Hanuman Temple.