At least seven persons died and 12 others sustained injuries when a Bolero jeep crashed at Nigale in Roshi Rural Municipality-3, Kavre, on Tuesday.

According to the District Police Office, the vehicle (Ba 14 Cha 9556) heading towards Gokule of Mahabharat Rural Municipality-2 from Banepa veered off the road and fell nearly 900 meters down in a ravine. Police identified the deceased as Khelimaya Bal, 35, Putalimaya Bal, 20, Manita Moktan, 27, her three-year-old daughter Christina, Kumari Jimba, 19, Mehendomaya Jimba, 22, of Mahabharat-2, and driver Ranjan Kharel of Kharelthok. 

Police said eight-year-old Abhishek Tamang, who was seriously injured in the accident, was taken to Kathmandu for treatment. Motilal Moktan, one of the survivors, said the jeep was climbing up a steep incline when it started rolling backwards before crashing into the ravine.The overcrowded jeep was mainly carrying passengers going home for the Dashain festival.

Police Inspector Rabiraj Thapaliya said they had managed to retrieve only six bodies as of late afternoon because of difficult terrain.In another road accident in the district, a person was killed when a bus overturned at Roshi Rural Municipality-3. The victim was identified as Bibek Surkheti, the handyman of the bus (Ba 2 Kha 3215). Police said there was no passenger on the bus at the time of the accident. 

37 hurt in separate road crashes

At least 37 persons were injured in two separate road accidents in Bardiya and Ramechhap districts on Tuesday.In Bardiya, a passenger bus (Na 5 Kha 4153) en route to Kathmandu from New Delhi, India, overturned along the East-West Highway at Katarniya in Barbardiya Municipality-9, injuring 24 passengers. The accident occurred while the bus driver was trying to avoid a cow. 

Superintendent of Police Janak Bhattarai said the conditions of five passengers were critical. They were taken to Kohalpur-based Teaching Hospital.In Ramechhap, a Tata Sumo on its way to Manthali from Khimti crashed at Likhu Rural Municipality, injuring 13 passengers. The injured people were admitted to Tamakoshi Sahakari Hospital and Ramechhap Community Hospital.  Police suspected over-speeding as the cause behind the accident.