Nine people died while more than 23 were injured in a bus accident near Bhairahawa early Sunday morning.

The passenger bus en route to Bhairahawa from Janakpur swerved off the bridge over Rohini River along the Bhairahawa-Parasi section of the Postal Highway at around 4:30am. The bus plunged some 25 feet below. The incident site is about four km east of Bhairahawa in Rupandehi district.

According to the District Police Office in Rupandehi, there were 32 people on board when the incident occurred. Police identified eight of the deceased while the identity of one is yet to be ascertained.

The security personnel of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force reached the incident site after 10 minutes and rescued the victims with the help of the local people. The rescuers used three excavators to retrieve the passengers trapped under the bus.

The rescued passengers were rushed to Bhim Hospital and Universal Teaching Hospital in Bhairahawa. Four people died while receiving treatment at Bhim Hospital while the other five died at Universal Teaching Hospital, said police.

Twenty one people injured in the accident are receiving treatment at Universal Medical College while two others returned home after treatment. The hospital source said the injured are not in a critical condition.

It is suspected that the fatal accident might have taken place because the driver dozed off while driving the vehicle. Preliminary police investigation also shows overspeeding to be another cause.

“I was asleep when the incident occurred. Almost all the passengers were sleeping. I came to know of the accident only after the bus plunged into the river. I smashed a window pane and came out. The security personnel took me to the hospital later,” said Wakil Das, 19, of Rautahat who sustained injuries in the incident.

“Detailed investigation into the incident is underway,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Nabaratna Paudel.

However, bus driver Suman Aryal, who was also injured in the crash, claimed that the incident occurred as he was attempting to save a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. “The vehicle did not dim its headlight. I lost control of the bus as I tried not to crash into it,” said Aryal from the hospital bed.