Tragedy struck mid-Nepal’s Ramechhap district on Thursday morning as a Kathmandu-bound bus careened off the road and tumbled 100 meters into the raging Tamakoshi River. At least 12 passengers perished in the crash near Machanetar, with eight more fighting for their lives.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Bhola Kumar Bhandari detailed the sequence of events: the driver lost control around 11 a.m., sending the bus plummeting into the depths. ‘We’ve retrieved six bodies from the site, and six others died en route to hospitals,’ he reported. Seven critically injured survivors were airlifted to Kathmandu for specialized care.
Estimated to have carried about 24 people, the bus was traveling from Kathmandu to Okhaldhunga’s Pokali when disaster hit. Swift rescue operations involving police, armed personnel, and emergency teams managed to pull survivors from the wreckage.
Nepal’s roads, once sparse, now teem with traffic thanks to expanded networks. Yet this progress has a dark side. Official records show road crashes jumped from 4,999 ten years back to 7,669 last year, claiming 190 lives—278 of them major incidents.
Beyond the loss of life, the financial drain is immense. According to the World Bank, injuries from road accidents now cost Nepal 1.5% of its GDP, a threefold rise since 2007. Vulnerable low-income groups bear the brunt, facing long-term hardship from medical bills and lost wages.
In the wake of this preventable horror, calls grow for better vehicle maintenance, driver training, and infrastructure upgrades to safeguard travelers on Nepal’s perilous routes.