A bus veered off a mountain road and plunged into a river Saturday in central Nepal killing 14 passengers and leaving many missing. The bus plummeted into the river just after midnight in Khare Khola, about 100 miles west of the capital Katmandu, police official Ramji Dantel said. Twelve bodies were recovered at the scene and two people died on the way to a hospital. Another 29 people injured in the accident were taken for medical treatment. Many more people were feared drowned inside the wreckage or swept away by the river, Dantel said. Dantel said police were investigating the cause of the crash. Police and soldiers were searching for any survivors but the river was flooded by monsoon rains, making their work difficult. Deadly road accidents are common in Nepal, often caused by poor roads and aging overcrowded vehicles, as well mountainous terrain with narrow roads and hairpin turns. |