Nepal accident claims 18 lives

Kathmandu: At least 18 people, including four women, were killed and 20 others injured on Tuesday when an overcrowded bus veered off a mountain road in Nepal’s Dhading district. The accident took place at Lapang Phedi village, 120 km west of capital Kathmandu, when the ill- fated passenger bus was on its way to Marpak from the district headquarters, Dhadingbeshi, the police said. A total of 18 bodies — including 4 women — have been retrieved from the accident site, a senior police official said. The bus fell some 300 metres down the road, The Himalyan Times reported. Six of the injured are said to be critical and they have been airlifted to the capital for treatment, he said. The exact reason for the accident has not been ascertained.