Eight people were killed and 17 others injured after a passenger bus collided with a truck at Chumlingtar in Ichhyakamana-3, Chitwan, on Prithvi Highway on Friday.

According to DSP Prabhu Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson for the Chitwan District Police Office, four people died on the spot while three breathed their last in course of treatment at the Old Medical College in Bharatpur.

Police identified six of the deceased as Arjun Neupane, 32, of Begnaskalika Rural Municipality, Palpa; Sumit Shrestha, 27, of Bhanu Municipality, Tanahun; Kamala Shrestha, 27, of Tanahun; Rabin Gurung, 30, of Kathmandu; Banuram Tiwari, 40, of Keshavtar, Tanahun; and Firoj Miya of Bihar, India. Identities of two people are yet to be established, said police.

Ten of the injured are receiving care at the Bharatpur-based Old Medical College and Manakamana Hospital. Seven others are being treated at hospitals in Pokhara, Dhading and Kathmandu. The passenger bus (Na 6 Kha 2506), en route to Syangja from Kathmandu, had collided with the truck (Na 5 Kha 7409) headed for Kathmandu before falling some 70 metres down the road at around 11:55am. According to rescuers at the incident site, the bus fell into a gorge above the Trishuli river.

Bus driver Udayaraj Lamichhane, 51, of Syangja, who is being treated for injuries, said the accident occurred when he applied brakes suddenly after seeing the truck in front of him. “The bus skidded of the road. I know nothing since,” he said.

One dead, two injured as car plunges into Trishuli

DHADING: A man died when a car he was travelling in plunged into Trishuli River at Jaharekhet in Gajuri-6, Dhading, on the Prithvi Highway on Friday. Police identified the deceased as Madhukar Subedi, 51, of Kaski district. Police Inspector Sanjay Timilsina of Area Police Office, Gajuri, said two persons were rescued alive from the incident site. They are undergoing treatment at the Gajuri-based Community Hospital, said Timilsena. The four-wheeler (Ba 14 Cha 3758) heading towards Pokhara from Kathmandu had been speeding, said police. (PR)