Updated on
Summary At least 15 people were killed when a speedy bus plunged into a river.
The death toll from major road accidents in the country has reached to at least 70 in a week.The vehicle was heading from the town of Butwal to the remote Sandhikharka valley, 380 kilometres south-west of the capital, Kathmandu, when the driver lost control and plunged 100 metres into the Dahakhola.The crash, the latest in a string of deadly accidents on the countrys highways, followed the deaths of 16 people last Monday when a night bus swerved off a road in central Nepal and plunged into a river.That incident came less than 24 hours after at least 39 pilgrims were killed when an overcrowded bus taking them from India to a Hindu festival in southern Nepal fell into a canal.Accidents are relatively common on Nepals highways because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.July marks the beginning of the monsoon season in Nepal, when rivers which have become parched in the first half of the year begin to swell up again, posing a greater threat to vehicles which lose control.
