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7 injured in Bardiya bus mishap, Dang accident toll reaches 45

At least seven persons were injured when a passenger bus they were traveling in skidded off the road and plunged into Karnali river in Bardiya district Wednesday morning.

Reports quoting a police officer said that 25 persons on board the bus bound for Rajapur in Baridya district from Gulariya were rescued immediately after the bus plunged into the river with the combined effort of police personnel and locals.

All the injured have been taken to hospital in Gulariya district for medical treatment.

It was not immediately known whether the injured were in a critical stage or just had minor bruises.

The cause behind the accident has also not been known, but police assume that it might have been caused by reckless driving, as is often the case in such highway accidents.

Meanwhile, with additional bodies recovered on Wednesday, the number of those killed in Dang bus tragedy has reached 45.

The tragedy occurred Monday morning after an overloaded passenger bus carrying mostly pilgrims and heading to Swargadwari of Pyuthan from Krishnanagar of Kapilvastu plunged into Rapti River at Bagasati VDC in Dang district.

Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel fished out 23 bodies from Rapti River on Tuesday while 22 were found on Monday.

Till now the identities of only 27 dead have been revealed while more than a dozen persons are still missing

Reports coming out from the district said that security personnel are still trying hard to extract the bus from the river with the help of a crane but with little progress. They believe that more bodies could be trapped inside the bus. nepalnews.com ag May 21 08