POKHARA, Feb 23: A night bus that left Pokhara for Kathmandu met with an accident around 1:30 AM Monday at Bhaisigauda, Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality-5 in Dhading along the Prithvi Highway. Police have confirmed that 19 people have died in the crash so far. The bus (Ga 2 Kha 1421) reportedly went out of control and plunged about 200 meters off the road to the bank of the Trishuli River. Among the deceased is one foreign national.
According to Ain Kumar Sai, president of the Prithvi Highway Bus Operators Company, the bus departed from the Tourist Bus Park at Rastra Bank Chowk in Pokhara at 7:00 pm. Seats had been booked in the names of 35 passengers. Sai said the 35-seater bus had departed at full capacity. Including the driver and co-driver, 37 people had initially left Pokhara. However, he added that the bus operator couple boarded the bus from Tanahun later on.
“The bus left Pokhara carrying passengers at full capacity. But according to the latest information, there were 44 passengers on board. That suggests additional passengers boarded along the way,” he said. “Since the 35-seat bus was already full from Pokhara, it is clear that extra passengers were added. Some of those who boarded mid-route had not even purchased tickets, which has created identification problems.”
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Following the midnight accident, police, the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force personnel, and local residents were mobilized for rescue operations. Rescue efforts were hampered due to the late hour of the incident. Police said 25 injured passengers are currently receiving treatment at various hospitals in Kathmandu.
Although the injured were initially treated at nearby local hospitals, they were later transferred to Kathmandu. Sai also said that there were no available seats for passengers who boarded midway.
“There is an issue with passengers who insist on traveling despite a lack of seats. On the other hand, transport operators also share responsibility when they allow passengers to board without available seats. Problems arise during accidents like this,” he said.
He added that in recent times, many passengers book tickets online. However, some do not provide their full names while booking. Unlike air travel, identifying bus passengers is not as straightforward.
“We instruct our staff to issue tickets only after recording complete passenger details. But it does not always happen as intended. Anyone can make a booking and send someone else to travel. Names and details are sometimes incomplete on the ticket,” he said. “This also creates problems during identification.”
As in Monday’s accident, some passengers’ names were recorded only in abbreviated form, and in some cases, no name was mentioned at all, leading to further difficulties in identifying the victims.
