At least 27 people – 20 of them pilgrims from north Maharashtra‘s Jalgaon district, including a six-year-old girl – were killed when an Indian tourist bus that began its journey from UP veered off the highway and fell 150 metres into the fast-flowing Marsyangdi river near Tanahu district in Nepal, around 130km from UP’s Maharajganj district, on Friday morning.It was carrying 43 passengers, all of them pilgrims.
Sixteen people were injured, according to the Indian embassy in Nepal. The toll is expected to rise as some of the 16 injured passengers airlifted to Kathmandu‘s Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital were in critical condition.
Maharashtra relief, rehabilitation and disaster management minister Anil Patil told TOI their priority now was to “bring back the bodies to Bhusawal. My department officials are coordinating with the Nepal and UP govts.” UP relief commissioner G S Naveen said, “UP govt officials will receive the bodies at the Nepal border and move them to Maharashtra. The last-mile logistics are being worked out.”
The bus was ferrying 43 pilgrims, most of them from Maharashtra’s Bhusawal town (Jalgaon district), who were going to Kathmandu after seeing various places in UP. Driver Murtaza Khan and conductor Ramjeet, alias Munna, both from UP, also died in the accident. UP’s relief department said all 43 passengers, 17 men and 26 women, had been accounted for. “Nepal govt has forwarded list of the deceased and injured people from Bhusawal town to Maharashtra govt,” Bhusawal’s BJP MLA Sanjay Savkare told TOI. He added that the condition of 12 injured was stated to be “very critical”.
Vishnu Kesarwani, proprietor of Gorakhpur-based Kesarwani Travels which provided three buses for Maharashtra tourists’ tour package, stated that the passengers from Bhusawal were on their way to Kathmandu from Pokhara. The group was initially picked up from Prayagraj and taken to Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Sonauli and Lumbini, and Pokhara in Nepal.
Collector Ayush Prasad told TOI over the phone from Jalgaon that victims were from rural parts of Bhusawal and were on a pilgrimage. “Total 110 people from Bhusawal had travelled to Ayodhya. They began their journey on Aug 16,” he said.
Two buses with 110 pilgrims had left Pokhara in Nepal and were heading towards Kathmandu, when the vehicle carrying 43 people, including the driver and helper, fell into the river in Ambukhereni region of Nepal’s Tanahu district. “Passengers of the other buses are safe,” MLA Savkare said.
Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, in a post on X, condoled the passengers’ deaths and said govt has communicated with the Indian embassy in Nepal.
UP govt has sent a SDM to the accident site, while foreign ministry is coordinating search and rescue operation with local authorities.
Sixteen people were injured, according to the Indian embassy in Nepal. The toll is expected to rise as some of the 16 injured passengers airlifted to Kathmandu‘s Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital were in critical condition.
Maharashtra relief, rehabilitation and disaster management minister Anil Patil told TOI their priority now was to “bring back the bodies to Bhusawal. My department officials are coordinating with the Nepal and UP govts.” UP relief commissioner G S Naveen said, “UP govt officials will receive the bodies at the Nepal border and move them to Maharashtra. The last-mile logistics are being worked out.”
The bus was ferrying 43 pilgrims, most of them from Maharashtra’s Bhusawal town (Jalgaon district), who were going to Kathmandu after seeing various places in UP. Driver Murtaza Khan and conductor Ramjeet, alias Munna, both from UP, also died in the accident. UP’s relief department said all 43 passengers, 17 men and 26 women, had been accounted for. “Nepal govt has forwarded list of the deceased and injured people from Bhusawal town to Maharashtra govt,” Bhusawal’s BJP MLA Sanjay Savkare told TOI. He added that the condition of 12 injured was stated to be “very critical”.
Vishnu Kesarwani, proprietor of Gorakhpur-based Kesarwani Travels which provided three buses for Maharashtra tourists’ tour package, stated that the passengers from Bhusawal were on their way to Kathmandu from Pokhara. The group was initially picked up from Prayagraj and taken to Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur, Sonauli and Lumbini, and Pokhara in Nepal.
Collector Ayush Prasad told TOI over the phone from Jalgaon that victims were from rural parts of Bhusawal and were on a pilgrimage. “Total 110 people from Bhusawal had travelled to Ayodhya. They began their journey on Aug 16,” he said.
Two buses with 110 pilgrims had left Pokhara in Nepal and were heading towards Kathmandu, when the vehicle carrying 43 people, including the driver and helper, fell into the river in Ambukhereni region of Nepal’s Tanahu district. “Passengers of the other buses are safe,” MLA Savkare said.
Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, in a post on X, condoled the passengers’ deaths and said govt has communicated with the Indian embassy in Nepal.
UP govt has sent a SDM to the accident site, while foreign ministry is coordinating search and rescue operation with local authorities.
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