Rajan Tamang, who is currently receiving treatment at Dhulikhel Hospital, lost eight members of his family in Tuesday’s bus accident in Kavre that has left at least 17 dead and several injured.

Rajan had travelled to his sister’s house in Chyalti of Bethanchok Rural Municipality for his 13-year-old nephew’s ‘chhewar’ (rite-of-passage) with his father, grandmother, brother and sister-in-law, uncle, aunt, son and daughter along with other relatives on the bus.

The family reached Chyalti in the morning and attended the ceremony. As part of the custom, Rajan had to bring his nephew to his house in Banepa after the ceremony and take him back to his house the next day. But the family couldn’t complete that journey.

A fatal accident occurred at around 6pm at Sallaphed of Chalal Ganeshthan in the rural municipality. Around 39 people from Banepa Municipality had gone to attend the ceremony. The bus was on its way back to the municipality when it overturned.

The nephew is currently receiving treatment at International Friendship Children’s Hospital in Kathmandu.

Dikaman Lama, a local resident, said that he heard a terrifyingly loud noise when the accident occurred. “We had never witnessed anything as terrible as this accident,” he said. “Some of us rushed to the accident site and helped with the rescue of the passengers.”

According to witnesses, the bus was overspeeding when it overturned.

Shiv Kumar Thapa, chair of Banepa Municipality-11, said that since most of Rajan’s family perished in the accident, there is no one left to claim the bodies of the deceased. “Rajan is in no condition to leave the hospital immediately. The hospital has decided to handover the bodies to Rajan’s siblings based abroad,” said Thapa. “They have been informed and we expect them to return soon.”

All 17 deceased have been identified and nine bodies have been handed over to the families, said Superintendent of Police Chakra Raj Joshi, chief of the District Police Office, Kavrepalanchok.

Among the 22 injured, 17 have been admitted to Scheer Memorial Hospital and Dhulikhel Hospital in the district and five are receiving care in different hospitals in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.

Meanwhile, the families of the victims and the injured in the bus accident protested on Wednesday disrupting public vehicle services that operate from Panauti.

The agitated family members obstructed traffic in Thado Bato of Panauti district demanding appropriate compensation to the family of the bereaved.

Discussions are being held between relatives of the victims and the transport operators, according to Sub-Inspector Rupesh Shrestha of Panauti Police.