A routine overnight ride through Nepal’s mountains turned into a nightmare when a passenger bus carrying 44 people veered off a highway and plunged roughly 656 feet down a steep slope — killing 19 and injuring 25 others.
The devastating crash happened in the early hours of Monday, Feb. 23, along the Prithvi Highway as the bus traveled from the tourist hub of Pokhara to the capital city of Kathmandu, according to officials from Nepal’s District Police Office in Dhading.
Authorities say the driver lost control before the vehicle careened off the road. The bus rolled down a mountainside and eventually came to rest on the banks of the Trishuli River, near the village of Benighat — about 50 miles west of Kathmandu.
Emergency crews rushed to the remote crash site before dawn. Survivors were pulled from the twisted wreckage and transported to nearby hospitals, with some later transferred to Kathmandu for more advanced care.
Among the dead is a 24-year-old British national. Officials say only nine of the victims have been formally identified so far. The injured include a 27-year-old woman from New Zealand, and a Chinese national is reportedly being treated at the National Trauma Center in Kathmandu.
Police confirmed that 13 of those killed were men and six were women. Of the 25 injured, 16 are male and nine are female. Three victims remain in serious condition.
A full investigation is now underway to determine what caused the bus to lose control.
Tragically, deadly bus crashes are not uncommon in Nepal, where winding mountain roads, aging vehicles, and unpredictable weather often combine to create dangerous driving conditions.
In 2024, two buses carrying a total of 65 people were swept into the Trishuli River following a landslide. Most of the passengers were killed, and the wreckage of one of the buses was only recovered earlier this year after being buried under sand for months.
For families waiting at local health centers in Dhading, Monday’s crash is yet another heartbreaking reminder of how quickly a journey through the Himalayas can turn fatal.
If Biden had his way, this guy probably named “Singh” would have been driving a packed Greyhound bus through the Rockies.