The dead include two children, four women, two security personnel and three teachers among others. Four of the dead had not been identified until Tuesday evening, according to the District Police Office of Kalikot. [break]
The bus (Na. 4 Kha 6877), which was carrying 37 passengers, had left Manma, the district headquarters of Kalikot, for Jumla at around 5 pm on Monday. At around 11 pm, the bus plunged into the Tila River after skidding off the road at the Birtamod section of the highway.
The police suspect that the bus might have slipped off the road when the driver tried to negotiate a perilous turn. The bus was found entirely crushed in the middle of the river.
According to Jagat Basnet, Chief District Officer (CDO) of Kalikot, the bus fell some 500 meters from the road.
The 11 injured passengers were airlifted to Nepalgunj for treatment. The Kalikot chapter of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) had hired a helicopter to rescue the injured. They were brought to Manma by a joint team of Nepal Army (NA) and Nepal Police.
According to DSP Homnath Niraula, policeman Pasal Shahi, who was posted at District Police Office of Jajarkot, Manoj Singh Karki, an NA man who hailed from Baitadi district and teachers Govinda Koirala and Jagatkumari Shahi, both of them from Kalikot, and Lal Bahadur Bhandari, of Kailali district, are among the dead.
“We have handed over the dead bodies of all identified passengers to their families,” DSP Niraula said. “The unidentified bodies have been kept in Manma.”
In April of 2011, 36 passengers were killed in a road accident along the Karnali highway, which has witnessed over 150 accidents since it was opened for vehicular movement some five years ago. Coincidentally, most of the accidents have occurred in the same section of the highway, where the latest tragedy took place Monday night.
“The Karnali highway is not suitable to be named as a highway. It´s not even a blacktopped road,” said Katakbahadur Shahi, of Karnali Highway Concern Group.
According to Road Sector Development Project (RSDP), which is now developing the Manma-Jumla section of the highway, the Birtamod section is the narrowest part of the Karnali highway. It is just three-and-a half-meter wide though it should have been at least 5 meters wide as per the original design.
Names of accident victims
1. Pasal Shahi, Kalikakhetu, Jumla
2. Mohan Singh Karki, Dasharath Municipality, Baitadi
3. Bhim Dutta Kunwar, Mahat, Jumla
4. Govinda Koirala, Rachuli, Kalikot
5. Jagat Kumari Shahi, Manma, Kalikot
6. Lal Bahadur Bhandari, Sadepani, Kailali
7. Kanchi Malla, Pakha, Kalikot
8. Jung Bahadur Shahi, Pakha, Kalikot
9. Narendra Bahadur Karki, Pandugufa, Jumla
10. Min Bahadur Rokaya, Pandugufa, Jumla
11. Dal Jeet Shahi, Kalikakhetu, Jumla
12. Shova Thait, Chandannath, Jumla
13. Prativa Thait (5-year-old son of Shova)
14. Lal Kaura Singh, Rawalkot, Dailekh
15. Kalam Raj Shahi, Kudari, Jumla
16. Dhan Raj Nepali, Kudari, Jumla
17. Gopi Chanda Upadhyaya, Chandan Nath, Jumla
18. Babanta Raut, Chandan Nath, Jumla
19. Bhirkha Bahadur Buda, Narakot, Jumla
20. Lanka Bahadur Buda, Narakot, Jumla
21. Kali Bahadur Mahatara, Chandan Nath, Jumla
22. Bal Bir Buda, Narakot, Jumla
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11 die, 17 injured as bus plunges into Karnali River
