Nepal bus crash kills 17 Indians and injures dozens

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32408541

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Police in Nepal say that 17 Indian tourists have died and 30 others injured after a bus veered off a mountain road and crashed in a river.

The accident happened some 16km (10 miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu.

The bus was carrying tourists to Gorakhpur from Kathmandu.

Accidents are common in Nepal's mountainous regions largely because of poor road conditions, badly maintained vehicles, reckless driving and overloading.

Police officer Tejendra told the Associated Press news agency that the bus veered off the Prithvi highway and plunged nearly 1,000ft (300m) before landing in a river.

He said the injured had been taken to different hospitals in Kathmandu.

In November, 47 people died after a bus crashed into a river in western Nepal.

And in October, an overloaded bus in the west of the country plunged off a road into a gorge, killing at least 29 people. Most of the passengers were travelling to meet their families to celebrate a Hindu festival.