A devastating bus accident in Nepal has claimed the lives of 27 Indian pilgrims, including 25 Maharashtra and two from Uttar Pradesh. The accident occurred on Friday when a bus carrying the pilgrims veered off the road and plunged into the fast-flowing Marsyangdi River in central Nepal’s Tanahun district.
The deceased were part of a group of 104 pilgrims on a ten-day journey through Nepal. The accident occurred in Abu Khaireni, about 90 kilometres west of Kathmandu, on the national highway linking Pokhara and Kathmandu.
A special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight carrying the bodies of the 25 deceased landed at Jalgaon airport on Saturday evening. The flight also carried Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Raksha Nikhil Khadse and Sanjay Savkare, a member of the Indian Air Force. Maharashtra Bhusawal Legislative Assembly constituency. They had arrived in Kathmandu earlier to monitor the return of victims and survivors.
“The minister received the injured at a hospital in Kathmandu and then travelled to Bharatpur on a domestic flight. The IAF flight with Khadse, Savkare and 25 bodies left Bharatpur for India,” the sources said.
Khadse shared an update about X before departure: “We will be reaching Jalgaon Airport at 7 pm along with the mortal remains of the 25 people from Jalgaon who died in a tragic bus accident in Nepal. We request all the families of the victims to cooperate and not let any inconvenience happen.”
Meanwhile, the bodies of the bus driver and his assistant, as well as 51 others from the remaining group, were expected to reach Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh by road later on Saturday evening. These people would be transported to Gorakhpur under police protection, with additional supervision by a district magistrate. The district administration had taken steps to provide food and other necessities to all the passengers at the border.
The cause of the accident remains undetermined, although the stretch of road where the incident occurred is known for its difficult conditions.
Earlier in the day, post-mortem examinations of the 27 deceased were completed at Bharatpur Hospital in Chitwan district of Bagmati province. The 16 injured were being treated at Tribhuvan Medical College Hospital in Kathmandu, with one person reported to be in critical condition.
Union Minister Khadse, accompanied by Savkare and Nepalese Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, visited the hospital to meet the injured. After the visit, Khadse expressed his gratitude to the Nepalese government and security forces for their prompt and effective response.
“He thanked His Majesty and the Government of Nepal for the prompt and timely assistance provided for the search and rescue operations as well as treatment of the injured,” Khadse said in a post on X. He also praised the Indian Embassy in Nepal for its coordination with local authorities and on-ground support.
Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his condolences and called the bus accident “tragic” in a post on X: “I am deeply saddened by the tragic bus accident in Abu Khaireni, Tanahun, which claimed the lives of 27 Indian nationals who were travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu. My heartfelt tributes to the victims and condolences to their families including Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji.”
In response to the tragedy, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi He announced an ex-gratia donation of Rs 200,000 from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the kin of each deceased, and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
The victims of the accident were from Varangaon, Daryapur, Talvel and Bhusaval in Jalgaon district, about 470 km from Mumbai. The group was travelling from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and was heading to Kathmandu from Pokhara when the accident occurred.
The accident has left families in both India and Nepal in deep mourning as authorities continue to investigate the cause of this tragic event.
(With PTI inputs)
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