Bhauni village of ward 7 of Purchaudi Municipality has remained unusually quiet since Thursday evening. A place that was filled with wedding music, laughter and celebration just hours earlier has sunk into mourning after a bus returning with a wedding party crashed, killing 13 people.

The victims were travelling back after attending a wedding when the accident occurred.

A bus and a jeep carrying the wedding party had reached Girjhabagar Bus Park in Purchaudi at around noon on Thursday after coming from Naunsa village of Bitthadchir Rural Municipality in Bajhang for the wedding.

After a 10-minute walk from the bus park, the wedding party reached Bhouni village, where the traditional wedding rituals were completed. The group then returned to the bus park with the bride. Some locals also joined the return journey on the bus.

The groom, bride, a few wedding guests and the bride’s brother were travelling in the jeep. The bus, meanwhile, was overcrowded with wedding guests and locals. Due to lack of space, the bride’s uncle, Amarraj Joshi, was standing near the rear door.

“The bus was full,” Joshi said. “Since some people were supposed to get off along the way, I was standing by the door.”

About 8 to 9 kilometres ahead of Girjhabagar, at Badgaun of ward 7, the situation suddenly worsened.

“I felt the bus slow down slightly at the bend,” Joshi said. “When I looked outside, I saw it rolling backwards towards the edge of the road. Realising it was about to fall, I pushed others standing at the door and jumped out.”

He landed on the roadside and rolled about 15 metres down the slope, managing to grab a tree. “That tree saved my life,” he said. “When I regained consciousness, I was already taken home.”

Soon after, he was told the most painful news: several other wedding guests had died in the crash.

“That scene still haunts me,” Joshi said. “It should never have happened. It is deeply painful.”

According to the District Police Office, Baitadi, the death toll has reached 13, with the toll expected to rise.