Death Toll in Dhading Bus Accident Reaches 19 as Road Accidents Become Rampant in Nepal

The death toll in the bus accident in Dhading has climbed to 19, police said on Monday, February 23.

The passenger bus, travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu, veered off the road along the Prithvi Highway into Trishuli riverbank at around 1:30 a.m. in Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality.

Deputy Inspector General Bishnu Prasad Bhatta, spokesperson for the Armed Police Force Nepal, told the state-owned Rastriya Samachar Samiti that 17 bodies were recovered from the crash site. Around two dozen injured passengers were rescued. Two of the injured later died during treatment.

Police said 44 people — 29 men and 15 women — were onboard the bus.

Among the deceased was a 24-year-old British national. A Chinese national and a New Zealand national are undergoing treatment at the National Trauma Centre in Kathmandu and Teaching Hospital, Malekhu.

Rescue operations were carried out through coordination among all three security agencies, with support from local residents. A disaster response team, including divers from the APF Disaster Management Base in Adamghat and the Disaster Management Training School in Kurintar, was deployed under the command of Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Giri, RSS reported.

(Sunil Sharma/NBA)

Some of the injured were treated at local health facilities, while most were referred to hospitals in Kathmandu.

According to the Prithvi Highway Bus Operators’ Committee, the bus departed Pokhara Tourist Bus Park at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday with 34 people on board, including the driver and two staff members. Additional passengers are believed to have boarded along the route.

Road accidents have worsened across Nepal in recent years. Data from the Nepal Police show that more than 24,000 people were killed and about 50,000 injured in around 260,000 road accidents between fiscal year 2014/15 and 2023/24.

In fiscal year 2024/25 alone, 2,549 people died as the country saw 28,692 road accidents. Another 6,976 sustained serious injuries and 37,283 suffered minor injuries. 

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, 1,545 people have died while the country has witnessed 19,305 accidents.

Motorcycles accounted for the largest share of vehicles involved in accidents, followed by cars, jeeps and buses.

(With inputs from RSS)