At least 12 people died and more than 30 were injured, some critically, in two separate road accidents in Makawanpur and Rukum (East) on Thursday.

Seven people died and 26 others sustained injuries when a passenger bus swerved off the road and plunged around 50 metres at Jurikhet along the Hetauda-Kulekhani route in Makawanpur district. According to the District Police Office, three critically injured people were referred to Chitwan while 23 others are receiving treatment at Hetauda Hospital.

Police suspect brake failure to be the cause of an accident on a sharp bend in Bhimphedi Rural Municipality-6. The bus en route to Hetauda from Kathmandu fell off the road in the Egharaghumti area.

There were 33 people on board when the accident happened, said police.

A team led by Superintendent of Police Bamdev Gautam, chief of the District Police Office, Makawanpur, reached the site for rescue. The injured were brought to Hetauda after primary treatment at a health centre in Bhimphedi.

In Rukum (East), five people died and 12 others were injured in a bus accident in Kyangsi Bagar of Bhume Rural Municipality-3 on Thursday. Four of the injured are said to be in critical condition.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Prakash Dangi, chief of the Rukum (East) Police, the bus en route to Rukumkot from Kathmandu had fallen off the road.

The bus’s rear wheel got caught in a pothole and lost balance resulting in the accident, said police.

According to Dangi, four critically injured people were flown to Surkhet on a Nepal Army helicopter while eight others are receiving care at the district hospital.