President Ramchandra Paudel visited Kirtipur Hospital on Sunday to inquire about the health of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and Pokhara Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya, who are currently receiving medical treatment.

During his visit, President Paudel was briefed on their condition and the ongoing medical care by Health Minister Pradip Paudel, Health Secretary Dr Roshan Pokharel, hospital director Kiran Kishor Nakarmi, and the doctors overseeing their treatment.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire also visited the hospital to check on the well-being of Finance Minister Paudel and Mayor Acharya, according to the finance minister’s secretariat.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Paudel and Pokhara Metropolitan Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya, who sustained burn injuries on Saturday, are undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital.

They were earlier in the day medevaced to Kathmandu from Pokhara for treatment following an accident during the inaugural event of the Pokhara Visit Year 2025.

The incident occurred when hydrogen-filled balloons went up in flames during the event at the Exhibition Centre in Pokhara-9, Naya Bazar. Finance Minister Paudel first pressed a button to inaugurate the event digitally and Mayor Acharya was facilitating Paudel in the process. Then, when they tried to fly a bunch of balloons, a flying spark fired the hydrogen-filled balloons.

Then, the minister was rushed to Gandaki Medical College and the mayor was taken to the Fishtail Hospital in Pokhara for preliminary medication, according to Motilal Timsina, spokesperson for the metropolis.

At the Kirtipur Hospital, a team of six doctors and three nurses are taking care of Paudel and Acharya.