Nepal

Masta village of Bajhang has plunged into a deep shock after seven locals lost their lives in a jeep accident. 

There was a fair at Sildevi Temple in the district headquarters Chainpur on Wednesday. On the way home from the fair, the jeep carrying locals of Masta Rural Municipality met with the accident in the afternoon.

The police said that the jeep (SuPaPra01-001 Cha 117) en route to Masta-2, Khetkot from headquarters Chainpur fell some 200 metres off the road at Tufandanda of Masta-1.

Four persons died on the spot, while four more succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, according to DSP Jageshwar Bhandari, the chief of the Bajhang District Police Office.

Among the deceased in the incident are Samjhana Khadka, 13, Roshan Khadka, 15, Basanti Dhami, 28, Prachanda Khadka, 13, Birendra Adhikari, 38, seven-month child Dakshita Kathayat and Sinki Devi Bhandari, 50, of Masta-2, Khetkot and Gyanendra Bohora, 42, of Shuklaphnta municipality, Kanchanpur. 

At least 15 others were injured in the accident. The injured are being treated in the district hospital. Critically injured were referred to Dhangadhi for further treatment, the police said.

A preliminary police investigation suggests an overload of passengers than the vehicle's capacity as the cause for the incident. - RSS