British national among 19 killed as bus plunges off mountain road in Nepal

A packed bus on its way to Nepal’s capital has driven off a mountain road in Nepal, killing 19 people including a British national and leaving another 25 wounded.

There were dozens of people on board the bus, which was heading from the resort city of Pokhara to Kathmandu when it drove off the Prithvi highway after midnight, police said.

The bus rolled down a mountain slope and landed on the banks of the Trishuli river near Benighat, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu.

Among those who died was a 24-year-old British national, according to a statement from the Dhading district police office.

Only nine bodies have been identified.

The injured included a Chinese national, who is being treated at the National Trauma Centre in Kathmandu, and a 27-year-old woman from New Zealand who received minor injuries and was being treated at a local hospital.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency, citing the Chinese embassy in Nepal, reported earlier that one other Chinese national was missing.

Rescuers reached the accident site soon after the accident, and the injured were pulled out of the wreckage and driven to hospitals for treatment, according to government administrator Mohan Prasad Neupane.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Bus accidents in Nepal are common, mostly due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles.

Much of the Himalayan country is covered by mountains and connected only by narrow roads.