Autopsy underway of 27 Indians killed in Nepal bus accident: Report

Kathmandu: The post-mortem of the 27 Indian pilgrims who were killed in the tragic bus accident in Nepal was underway in a hospital in the Bagmati province on Saturday, ahead of the transportation of the bodies to Maharashtra, a media report said.

At least 27 Indian pilgrims, all from Maharashtra, who were in Nepal for a 10-day tour, were killed and 16 others injured after their bus veered off the highway and fell into a fast-flowing river in central Nepal on Friday.

The post-mortem of bodies is being held in the Bharatpur Hospital in the Chitwan district of the Bagmati province, the MyRepublica news portal reported.

The bodies were sent from the Anbu Khaireni Hospital to Chitwan for a post-mortem, the report said, quoting Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Rai.

An Indian Air Force plane will transport the bodies to Nashik today, a Maharastra state government release said on Friday in Mumbai.

According to the police, the bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh carrying 43 passengers, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara when it met with the accident at Aanboo Khaireni area along the Marsyangdi River in Tanahun district around noon.

While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of Nepal's Armed Police Force (APF) Shailendra Thapa told PTI.

The 16 people who sustained injuries have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he added.

The reason for the accident is not yet known. The accident site lies on the national highway, some 90 km west of Kathmandu.

The bus, with an Uttar Pradesh number plate, fell around 150 metres down the hilly road along the bank of Marsyangdi river and will be lifted with the help of a crane.

According to a report in the news portal, the passengers onboard the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a tour of the Himalayan nation. The victims were from Varangaon, Daryapur, Talvel and Bhusaval in Jalgaon district, 470 km from Mumbai, officials said.