The death toll from a jeep crash in Jaljala of Rolpa has reached 20 on Thursday evening, police said.

The jeep, carrying pilgrims from Rukum East, plunged off a cliff at ward 1 of Thabang Rural Municipality. The accident occurred along a ridge on the border of wards 1 and 4.

Police said the passengers were travelling to Jaljala for rituals on the full moon day.

Police Inspector Sunil Thapa Nepali, information officer at the District Police Office, Rolpa, said rescue operations are ongoing, with teams from Uwa and Thabang deployed.

Police suspect slippery road conditions due to rainfall may have caused the crash.