BAGLUNG: Vice-chairperson Bhupendra Budha of Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality of Rukum East and two others died when a jeep overturned on the Mid-Hills Highway on Friday morning.

Along with Bhupendra Budha, her mother Gopimaya Budha, 61, and Jas Bahadur Shripali, chairman of ward number 2 of the same rural municipality, lost their lives in the same accident.

The jeep en route to Rukum East from Kathmandu fell some 300 metres down the road at Galkot-2 of Baglung district. According to Police Inspector Pratap Paudel, one person was rescued alive from the crash site. The injured driver Prem Bahadur Pun, 29, was rushed to Dhaulagiri Hospital.

Then he was taken to Pokhara for further treatment. Bhupendra Budha and Shripali were elected to their respective positions of the rural municipality in the local election held in May 2022. The election commission now has to conduct an election to fill the vacant posts.