Fourteen people were killed and six others injured when an electric passenger vehicle plunged down a steep hillside in Makwanpur district of Nepal this morning.
The accident took place at around 5:45 AM at Chisapani Gadhi in Bhimphedi Rural Municipality-6. The vehicle was travelling from Kathmandu to Sarlahi district when it veered off the road and plunged nearly 500 metres down the slope.
According to police, the passengers were returning to Sarlahi to celebrate the Chhath festival. Most of them belonged to Sundarpur locality in Chakraghatta Rural Municipality of Sarlahi district. Six members of the same family were among those killed.
Rescue operations were carried out jointly by Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and the Nepali Army. Of the six injured, three have been discharged after treatment, while the remaining three have been referred to hospitals in Kathmandu and Bharatpur for further medical care.
Authorities have formed a five-member committee to investigate the accident and ascertain its cause.
(Arvind Jain, IIS PBSC, All India Radio & Doordarshan, Kathmandu)
