Students among 23 killed in Nepal bus crash

At least 23 people were killed and 14 injured in Nepal when a bus carrying students and their teachers back from a botanical trip ran off a road and plunged into a ravine.

The accident took place on Friday evening in Nepal's Dang district. Most of the victims were students aged between 16 and 20, officials said. The bus was carrying 37 people at the time of mishap, the police said.

The students and teachers were from the Krishna Sen Ichchhuk Polytechnic Institute in Ghorahi, Dang district, the Kathmandu Post reported on Saturday. They had been returning from a visit to a farm when the bus veered off the road near Ramri village.

Two teachers and the driver of the vehicle were among the dead.

Road accidents are common in Nepal, usually caused due to bad roads, poorly maintained vehicles and rash driving.

Last week 20 people died when a lorry carrying mourners from a funeral plunged into a river in central Nepal.

--IANS

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