British national among 19 killed in Nepal bus crash

A passenger ‌bus fell from a hilly road in west ​Nepal ⁠before dawn on Monday, ‌killing 19 people including ‌a British national, police said.
Only nine of the dead have been identified ‌so far, they said, adding that the bus ⁠was carrying 44 people in all.

A New Zealander and a Chinese national were among the 25 injured when the bus headed to the Nepali capital, ​Kathmandu, from the tourist town of Pokhara ‌fell 200 metres (650 feet) from the road at Behighat in Dhading district, 80 km (50 ⁠miles) west of Kathmandu, a police statement said.

The wreckage of a bus is seen on the bank of the Trishuli River after it drove off a mountain highway near Benighat. AP

A spokesperson for Britain's Foreign Office said ​the government ‌was supporting the family of the ‌British man who died in the accident and was in contact with the local ‌authorities.

The injured are ‌being treated at ⁠hospitals in Kathmandu, it said.

Road ‌accidents are common in mostly mountainous Nepal where the conditions of roads ⁠are poor. Hundreds die in ​road crashes in Nepal annually.

Reuters