- Police and army went down to the river to rescue the passengers.
- Of the 21 rescued, 12 were seriously injured and were airlifted to Kathmandu.
- 43 passengers boarded a bus in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
KATHMANDU: Half the passengers on a bus carrying 43 Indians were killed on Friday when the vehicle plunged into a rain-swollen river in neighbouring Nepal, a spokesman for the Himalayan nation's armed police said.
A total of 21 people were killed and 22 injured, said Shailendra Thapa, a spokesman for the armed police, adding that all 41 passengers and two crew members were Indians and were heading to the capital, Kathmandu, from the resort city of Pokhara when the accident occurred.
Roads in the mountainous region can be challenging for drivers as they are often narrow and treacherous, making it difficult to maneuver large vehicles around tight corners.
Rescuers have rescued 22 people from the rain-swollen Marsyangdi River in Tanahun district, some 118 kilometres from Kathmandu, of whom 12 were seriously injured and airlifted to the capital.
Police and army teams climbed down long metal ladders to reach the river, using ropes to pull out the wounded and dead.
Exhausted women and children lay among debris strewn along the banks of the fast-flowing river as rescuers pulled a nearly unconscious boy out of danger, video footage showed.
The neighboring Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where the passengers had boarded the bus, is sending an official to coordinate rescue efforts, the news agency said. ANI saying.
