Kathmandu, October 18
Three people have died and four others have been injured after a passenger SUV plunged into the Sunkoshi River in Nagthan, Fikkal Rural Municipality-6, Sindhuli, on Sunday morning. Three people are missing.
The SUV, registration number Ko 1 Ja 2976, was travelling from Kathmandu to Khotang when it fell into the river from the Mid-Hill Highway at around 2:30 am. The vehicle plunged approximately 200 metres below the road.
According to Sindhuli police, three women died at the scene. Their identities have yet to be established.
The four injured passengers were initially taken to Janasewa Health Centre in Ghurmi, Udayapur, before being referred to Sindhuli District Hospital for further treatment.
The injured have been identified as driver Ashish Bista, 29, from Okhaldhunga; Samjhana Rai, 38, and her 12-year-old daughter, Siwani Rai, from Diktel Municipality-3, Khotang; and Ankit BK, 13, from Diktel Municipality-1.
According to the driver, three people remain missing following the accident.
Teams from Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force have been deployed to search for the missing passengers and carry out rescue operations.
A seven-member Nepal Police team led by Police Inspector Bishnu Prasad Paudel from the Khurkot Area Police Office and an Armed Police Force team led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Narendra Gurung, including divers from the Khurkot Disaster Management Base, are conducting the search.
The cause of the accident has not yet been established. Further details are awaited.
