Bus plunges off highway in Nepal killing 12 Indian pilgrims and leaving another 37 hurt

Nepalese rescue workers search for the victims at the site of a bus accident, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, April 22, 2015. The bus, carrying Hindu pilgrims from the Indian state of Gujrat on a visit to the Pashupatinath temple, plunged off a mountain highway near Nepal’s capital on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (The Associated Press)

prev next

Nepalese rescue workers retrieve the dead body of a victim at the site of a bus accident, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, April 22, 2015. The bus, carrying Hindu pilgrims from the Indian state of Gujrat on a visit to the Pashupatinath temple, plunged off a mountain highway near Nepal’s capital on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (The Associated Press)

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Police says a bus has plunged off a mountain highway near the Nepalese capital, killing at least 12 Indian pilgrims and injuring 37 more.

Police officer Tejendra said Wednesday that the bus veered off the highway at a point about 16 kilometers (10 miles) west of Kathmandu.

He says the bus fell about 300 meters (1,000 feet) from the highway before it landed in a river at the bottom of the hill.

The injured have been taken to different hospitals in Kathmandu.

The bus was carrying Hindu pilgrims and had just left Kathmandu.

Police did not immediately give any cause for the accident.