According to the police, the overspeeding bus (Lu 1 Kha 5583) skidded 200 meters down the road. Eleven people died on the spot while two others breathed their last while on the way to hospital. Of those killed, seven are men and six women.
According to Police Inspector Jitendra Kumar Basnet, all the deceased have been identified. They include Temlal Pandey of Arkhale-6, Gulmi, Dev Bahadur Somare of Birwas-8, Harikala Aryal of Darbardevisthan-3, Bishnu Prasad Panthi of Tamghas-1, Laxmi Khanal of Pipaldhara, Gulmi, Laxmi Khadka of Jaisithok, Chhamkala Kunwar and her son Niraj Kunwar of Tamghas-3, Rajan Gautam of Arkhale-7, Gana Bahadur Kshetri of Mareng-5, Arghakhanchi, Chanda Bhusal of Bangla-8, Lal Kumar Shrestha of Bhagawati-5. Shree Bahadur Thapa of Dubichaur died while undergoing treatment at Tansen-based Mission Hospital. Police said the bodies have already been handed over to their kin after autopsy.
Among the 17 injured passengers admitted to the Mission Hospital, six have returned home after minor treatment while the rest are still undergoing treatment. One injured passenger has been referred to Kathmandu and another to Bharatpur Hospital for further treatment. The bus driver and bus owner were also injured in the accident. Locals had reached the spot immediately after the accident and started rescue efforts half an hour before the police arrived, according to Inspector Basnet.
Driver to blame for accident: A survivor
According to Gokul BK, a survivor of the accident, the accident took place due to the bus driver´s negligence. According to him, the bus met with the accident while trying to overtake a truck on the narrow hilly road.
"No sooner had the bus overtaken the truck than a motorbike abruptly came from the opposite direction. The bus skidded off the road while trying to give way to the motorcyle," said Gokul.
"The bus driver kept his attention focused on drawing more passengers and overtaking vehicles instead of thinking about passengers´ safety. This cost the lives of over a dozen people," BK added.
1 killed, 4 injured in two separate accidents
Similarly, in two other separate accidents in the district on Sunday, one person died while four others were injured. Dhan Bahadur Pariyar (70) of Birbas-2 died after a tractor (Lu 2 Ta 287) hit him at Darbardevisthan . In another incident, four people were injured after a jeep (Lu 1Ja 1986 ) met with an accident at Panitanki, Arkhale-7.
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