ನೇಪಾಳ: ನದಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದ ಬಸ್ಸು, 31 ಸಾವು

ಬಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿನ ಮಿತಿ ಮೀರಿದ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯೇ ದುರಂತಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ಇರಬಹುದು ಎಂದು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಆದರೆ ಕೆಲವು ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ಮಾತನ್ನು ತಳ್ಳಿಹಾಕಿದ್ದು, ಚಾಲಕ ಮದ್ಯಪಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಬಸ್ಸು ಚಲಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಇದೇ ಅಪಘಾತ ಕಾರಣ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ನದಿಗೆ ಬಿದ್ದ ಕೆಲವರನ್ನು ರಬ್ಬರ್ ದೋಣಿ ಬಳಸಿ ರಕ್ಷಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನುಳಿದವರನ್ನು ಡ್ರೋನ್ ಸಹಾಯದಿಂದ ಮೇಲೆತ್ತಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಗಾಯಗೊಂಡವರಿಗೆ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ನೀಡಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ ಶ್ಯಾಮ್ ಪ್ರಸಾದ್ ಭಂಡಾರಿ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

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At least 31 people have been killed after a bus carrying passengers returning from a Hindu festival to the Nepali capital of Kathmandu skidded off the main highway and plunged into a river.

Officials have said that others are also trapped following the crash.

The accident occurred in the early hours of the morning, around 50km west of the city, on the Prithvi Highway that connects Kathmandu with the southern plains.

"We have recovered 31 bodies and are looking for more," a government official said

They added: "It's highly unlikely for anyone to survive for so long underwater."

Rescuers on rubber boats and police divers managed to spot the bus hours after the crash and were trying to lift it from water with the help of a crane.

Sixteen other people have been injured, government administrator Shyam Prasad Bhandari said.

Two with grave injuries were taken to Kathmandu while the rest were treated at a local hospital, he said.

Police said survivors were thrown out of the bus windows but another 13 people were still believed to be trapped in the bus.

The bus had left Rajbiraj town in the southeastern plains on Friday night.

Road accidents are common in mostly mountainous Nepal, where police say about 1,800 people die in crashes every year.

Accidents are also blamed on poorly maintained and crowded vehicles.

Authorities are yet to confirm the cause of the crash, but local media quoted passengers saying that the driver may have been drunk.