Baitadi Bus Accident: Families of 13 Victims to Receive Relief from Sudurpashchim Government

The Sudurpashchim provincial government has announced a relief of NPR 100,000 for the families of the 13 people who died in a bus accident in Baitadi.

The decision was made during a cabinet meeting on Friday, which also approved free treatment at government hospitals for the injured, according to Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah.

The accident occurred on Thursday around 7:30 PM in Purchaundi Municipality–7 while a bus (No. सु. प्र ०२ ००१ ख १११९) was returning home after a wedding ceremony. The bus fell nearly 100 meters, resulting in the deaths of 13 passengers.

Among the deceased were 42-year-old ward secretary Narayanraj Joshi from Bitthadchir Rural Municipality–7, 24-year-old assistant livestock technician Basantaraj Joshi from Shailyashikhar Municipality–1 in Darchula, and 42-year-old English teacher Vishnudatt Joshi from Mahadev Secondary School in Lim, Bajhang, confirmed by ward chair Dinesh Bahadur Adhikari.

The joyful wedding celebrations turned into mourning following the tragedy, said Adhikari. Bitthadchir–7 ward has declared a day of mourning on Friday.

Police Inspector Baldev Budu reported that five people are seriously injured and receiving treatment in Dhangadhi, 25 injured are in Dadeldhura, and four with minor injuries are being treated at a health post in Bajhang.

The driver, 42-year-old Birendra Budha from Haldhukhala, Bhimdat Municipality–7, Kanchanpur, who fled the scene, was taken into police custody on Friday morning.