At least 25 passengers were killed and 48 others injured when a bus bound for Tamghas, the district headquarters of Gulmi, met with an accident at Laghuwa of Deurali VDC in Palpa district at arround 12:15 pm Monday.

48 others injured in the mishap have been admitted to the mission hospital in Tansen, where twelve of them are in critical condition.  

Reports said that the dead included 12 women and four children. Thirteen dead identified so far are -- Krishna Prasad Kharel, 52, of Aanpchaur-1, Gulmi; Basisara Thapa, 53, of Hugdi-3, Baglung; Tikaram Gyawali, 55, of Ruru-8, Gulmi; Sabitra Kunwar, 18, of Thulolumdek-8, Gulmi; Shir Bahadur Thapa, 28, of Jheri Gajera, Kapilvastu; Harikala Thapa, 19, of Ruru-4, Gulmi; Harikala’s two-year-old son Amit; Bishnu Thapa, 28, of Kailashnagar, Tansen; Umakanti Chandan, 42, of Birbas-2, Gulmi; Devka Kunwar, 37, of Swathi-8, Nawalparasi; Devka’s 10-year-old son Raju; Jung Bahadur Gautam, 60, of Rupakot-5, Gulmi; Mohan Singh Khatri, 40, Charpala, Gulmi. .

The bus (Lu 1 kha 3076) had left for Tamghas of Gulmi at 8:45 am from Butwal skidded of the road and fell 300 meteres down into a stream.

A report quoted an injured person, Dil Bahadur Gharti as saying, “The driver ignored me when I asked him not to take too many passengers into the bus. The spring plate broke and the brakes failed. The driver then jumped off the vehicle and it fell down into a maize field.”

The police have detained the bus driver and helper.