Seventeen people died when a jeep carrying Hindu devotees crashed in Thawang Rural Municipality, Rolpa, on Thursday.

According to Police Inspector Sunil Thapa Nepali, the vehicle swerved off the road and plunged around 800 metres below. The incident site lies on the border of wards 1 and 4 of Thawang.

The jeep was heading to Jaljala, a revered Hindu shrine in Rolpa, from Rukumkot, the district headquarters of Rukum East.

Chief District Officer Ganga Bahadur Chhetri said that police personnel and local residents were immediately mobilised for rescue after receiving news of the accident.

According to the District Police Office in Rolpa, the pilgrims had travelled to Jaljala to perform rituals on Friday, the day of the full moon.