Nepal bus accident kills 35

DHAKA: At least 35 pilgrims have been killed in a bus crash in Nepal, police say.

The crowded bus swerved off a road and plunged into water near the town of Parasi, 150km south-west of Kathmandu, officers said, reports BBC.

The bus was taking the pilgrims - most of them from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh - to the Hindu pilgrimage site of Triveni, close to the Indian border.

Buses are often overcrowded in Nepal and accidents on poorly maintained mountain roads are common.

A police official, Gyan Bikram Shah, told media that the driver had lost control on roads that were slippery because of rainfall.

He said the bus was so crowded that people were riding on the roof.

Another police officer, Deepak Kumar Raya, said from the crash site that, according to survivors, there were about 75 people on board the bus. Rescuers have recovered 35 bodies.

‘They were here to attend the annual religious festival at Triveni and worship Lord Shiva, the Hindu god, on Monday morning,’ Raya said.

He said the bus had been fully submerged under the River Gandak, which was swollen by monsoon rains.

BDST: 1826 HRS, JUL 15, 2012

Edited by Robab Rosan, Cultural Affairs Editor