Identity of all 12 killed in Rapti bus accident ascertained

Identity of all 12 persons killed in Rapti bus accident on Friday night has been confirmed, according to the Nepal Police.

The deceased are four persons from Banke district and three are Indian nationals. Likewise, others include one each from Rukum Paschim, Chitwan, Makawanpur, Kathmandu and Jumla.

The deceased identified are Kusum Basnet, 60, Sanjay KC, Ram Baran Harijan, 30, and Arpan Thapa, 28, of Banke district.

Likewise, Dipak Kami of Rukumpaschim, Anil Khadka of Chitwan, Saurabh Bista of Makawanpur, Prof Dr Tarakant Pandey, 65, of Katmandu and Mun Bahadur Rawat of Jumla died in the accident.

Furthermore, Indian nationals Jogendra Ram, Chetram Shilpakar and Mune also died in the same accident.

Meanwhile, police said that the accident occurred due to carelessness of the driver.

Deputy Superintendent of Police of District Police Office Dang, Janak Bahadur Malla, said that the bus could have fallen into the river after the driver lost control over the vehicle due to over speed.

The passenger bus (Bhe.1 Ka 3912) was heading to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj and fell into the Rapti river at Bhaluwang in Dang at around 10:30 pm on Friday, leaving seven dead on the spot and 21 others injured.

The bus is operated by Namaste Transport. The bus driver Lal Bahadur Nepali, 28, a resident of Salyan, has been detained by the police for necessary action.