Kathmandu, 15 March (H.S.): A devastating bus accident late Saturday night in Nepal's Gorkha district has resulted in the deaths of seven Indian pilgrims, with seven others critically injured.The pilgrims, who had visited the Manakamana Temple, were returning in a microbus (Bagmati Province registration 006 Ba 8430) when the vehicle veered off the road near Shahid Lakhan village and plummeted approximately 200 meters down a steep slope.

Gorkha District Police Superintendent Bharat Bahadur reported that seven of the 14 occupants perished at the scene, including five women and two men; the remaining passengers, all seriously hurt, are receiving treatment at various hospitals.

Excluding the driver and co-driver, all passengers were Indian nationals. Rescue teams from the Armed Police Force Nepal's 29th Battalion and Gorkha District Police swiftly responded upon receiving news of the crash.

Nepal Police have released the names of the deceased, without specifying their home states, though authorities suspect they hail from South India: Mutu Kumar (58, male), Anamika (58, female), Meenakshi (59, female), Shivagami (53, female), Vijayal (57, male), Meena (58, female), and Tamilarashi (60, female).

The injured Indian nationals admitted to Bharatpur Medical Hospital are: Soranam (62, male), Mangada Jalam (65, female), Subhadra (75, female), Mayla (65, female), Saroja (73, female), Bhagyalakshmi (65, female), and Meenakshi (34, female).

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar