Bus crash on mountain road in Nepal kills at least 33 people

A bus slipped off a narrow mountain road in Nepal on Monday, killing at least 33 people and injuring 28 others.

The bus was filled with people travelling to their home villages to receive the first government payments for victims of last year’s devastating earthquake. Kartike Deurali, the village the bus was heading to, was among the worst hit by the quake, which killed nearly 9,000 people in the country.

The accident occurred near Khare Khola, about 80km east of the capital. Officials said the bus plunged off the road and rolled about 150 metres. The road is reportedly little more than a trail which is wide enough for only one vehicle to pass at a time. Reports claim that it was slippery because of continuous rain.

Nepalese home ministry official, Chiranjivi Nepal, said 33 people were killed, but injured passengers and relatives said many more may have died because the wreckage was scattered along the slope below the road and some areas were inaccessible.