Six people were electrocuted and nine others were injured when a moving bus came in contact with a live wire at Sabila Municipality-4 in Dhanusha district on Friday evening.  

The victims were part of a wedding procession, on their way to Dhanusha from Dudhauli Municipality in Sindhuli district.  

Deputy Superintendent of Police Dipendra Shahi said Atrosh Kumar, Puja Adhikari, Lila Adhikari, Suraj Adhikari, Ram Babu Adhikari, and Kesham Kumar died in the incident, while the nine injured people were taken to Janakpur Zonal Hospital.

Pawan Pariyar, the driver’s assistant, was critically injured. Doctors attending to Pariyar said his treatment was not possible at the zonal hospital and that he had been referred to the hospital where he could receive proper care.

DSP Shahi said the incident occurred when a metal trunk placed on the roof of the bus touched the electric wire.

There were around 100 people in the bus.

Jagadish Thakur, one of the survivors, said he and some other passengers managed to escape when the power got briefly cut after the bus caught fire.  

Those seated towards the back of the bus got electrocuted when the power resumed, he added.  

Meanwhile, the residents and the municipal officials of Sabila Municipality-4 have blamed the Nepal Electricity Authority for the incident.   

Dilip Kumar, the ward representative of the municipality, claimed that the tragedy would not have occurred had the NEA fixed the slack electric wire.  

This is the second incident in less than 10 days involving fatalities as a result of loose live wires in Dhanusha district.

Two men had died and a third one was critically injured when their motorcycle touched a low-hanging electric wire in Janakpur Sub Metropolitan City on

January 19.