Bus plunges off Nepal mountain highway: 19 dead, including Chinese national

A packed bus on its way to Nepal’s capital drove off a mountain highway in Nepal early on Monday, killing 19 people including Chinese and British nationals and leaving another 25 wounded.

There were dozens of people on board the bus, which was heading from the resort city of Pokhara to Kathmandu when it drove off the Prithvi highway after midnight, police said. The bus rolled down a mountain slope and landed on the banks of the Trishuli River near Benighat, about 80km (50 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu.

One Chinese national was killed in the accident, while another Chinese citizen was injured and receiving treatment at a local hospital, Xinhua reported, citing the Chinese embassy in Nepal. A Chinese national had been reported missing earlier.

A 24-year-old British national was also among the dead, according to a statement from the Dhading district police office. At least nine bodies have been identified.

Rescuers reached the accident site soon after the accident, and the injured were pulled out of the wreckage and driven to hospitals for treatment, according to government administrator Mohan Prasad Neupane.