16 dead in Nepal bus accident

Kathmandu, Nov 8 : At least 16 people were killed and over two dozen injured in western Nepal Sunday when a commuter bus met with an accident, police said.

The bus was heading towards Sandhikharka, the main town in Arghakhanchi, one of the hardest-hit districts during the Maoist insurgency, when it met with an accident in Hangshapur village. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

While 16 passengers, including women, children and the driver of the bus, died on the spot, 25 people were badly injured, 10 of them seriously, police said.

The gravely injured have been rushed to the Lumbini regional hospital.

Police said the bad condition of the road as well as winter fog enveloping the area could have caused the mishap.

Nepal, according to the UN, has one of the largest incidences of accidental deaths in the world.

Media reports said four more people had died in road smashes on the same day in other districts. Old vehicles, rash drivers and bad roads are largely responsible for the growing number of road deaths.

--IANS