Trishuli bus plunge: Death toll reaches five, around dozen feared missing

KATHMANDU, Aug 9: The death toll of Trishuli bus accident that took place this morning at Salangghat of Benighat Rorang rural municipality-3 in Dhadhing has reached five.

The ill-fated bus (Na 6 Kha 7469) fell some 100 meters down from the road and plunged into the Trishuli River.

Three had died on the spot, District Police Office, Dhading chief Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Badiwar said. They have been identified as Ajay Das, 35, Bijay Kurmi, 25 while the identity of the third is yet to be ascertained.

Later two bodies were retrieved from the river near Muglin, according to the police. Around a dozen passengers are feared still missing.

16 people were rescued alive and are being treated at different health facilities.

Dhirendra Thakur, 40, of Sitamadi, India, Bijay Yadav, around 32, of Kabilash rural municipality-4, Pramod Kunwar, 28, of Haripur rural municipality-4, assistant driver Sikindra Kumar Mahato, 16, of Malangawa municipality-11, Kush Ranjam Mahato, 21, of Bishnu rural municipality-5, Shweta Rauniyar, 16, of Brahmapuri, driver Jeevan BK, 40, of Haripur, Rakesh Baitha of Brahmapuri-6 and two who are yet to be identified are under treatment at the Kathmandu-based Trauma Center.

The police preliminary investigations suggested the accident happened as the driver fell asleep.

Some have been already discharged from the Gajuri Hospital Dhanding.

They are Dinesh Thakur, 36, of Hamahariya municipality-8, Sarlahi; Bhogendra Chaudhary, 34, of Haripur-7, Sarlahi; Rahul Mahato, 15, of Aurahi rural municipality-7, Sarlahi; Amrit Lama of Haripur rural municipality-9, Bhupendra Kumar Yadav, 31 of Kabilashi Lathi rural municipality-6, Sarlahi; Bijay Raya Yadav, 33, of Kabilasi rural municipality-4 and Bhirendra Thakur, 42, of Panaulithana-4, Sitamadi, India.

Some of the passengers survived the accident by swimming to the shore.

Two of them were rescued only at 7 am the following morning from a gorge on the river banks. Thirty-nine passengers got on the bus (Na 6 Kha 7469) from Malangawa and two from Haripur, said the transport committee.

All the bus seats were packed and four other passengers sat on stools, and four were in the cabin except the buss staffs, said Samim Raj Ansari, a survivor of the accident, who took ‘B’ 16 seat on the ill-fated bus. All of them are said not to have booked seats.

The transport committee confirmed that it registered 38 passengers on the bus. Nepal Police, Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and volunteers from Red Cross Nepal involved in the rescue efforts. RSS