At least six people were killed and 30 others were injured, some critically, when a bus crashed at Kuhibhir of Phikkal Rural Municipality-4 along the Mid-Hill Highway on Sunday.

According to the District Police Office in Sindhuli, the vehicle was heading for Kathmandu from Okhaldhunga.

According to police, there were 36 people onboard the bus at the time of the incident.

Eight seriously injured passengers were medevaced to Kathmandu by a Nepal Army helicopter while eight others were rushed to Dhulikhel and Kathmandu in ambulances. Following the incident, the victims’ relatives and locals disrupted vehicular movement along the BP Highway for three hours, accusing the authorities of delay in rescuing the injured.

Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Silwal, chief of Sindhuli Police, said preparation is underway to airlift seriously injured five passengers to Kathmandu through a chopper for treatment.

According to him, of the six deceased, five are from Okhaldhunga district and one is from Udayapur.

Preliminary investigation showed the mishap happened when the bus crashed into a hillside after the driver lost control of the vehicle, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Chiranjeevi Dahal, spokesperson at Sindhuli District Police Office.

Nepal’s hill districts, including Sindhuli, often see vehicle crashes, with experts attributing the accidents to treacherous topography, faulty road designs and reckless driving.

In the fiscal year 2020, as many as 4,654 Nepalis were killed in road accidents, accounting for 2.9 percent of total deaths in the country.