A British national is among 19 people killed after a passenger bus plunged approximately 650 feet from a mountainous road into a ravine in west Nepal before dawn on Monday. The bus, carrying 44 passengers, was traveling from Pokhara to Kathmandu when it veered off the road at Behighat in Dhading district, about 50 miles west of the capital. According to senior police officer Prakash Dahal, 19 people died in the crash while 25 others were injured and are receiving treatment. Authorities have so far identified nine of the victims. Among the injured are a New Zealander and a Chinese national, while Chinese state media earlier reported that another Chinese passenger had been missing. Rescue operations were completed by dawn, confirmed Mohan Prasad Neupane from the district administration office, and investigations into the cause of the accident are now underway.

Road accidents are tragically common in Nepal, where steep terrain, narrow highways, and poor road conditions contribute to hundreds of fatalities each year. Earlier this month, at least 13 people died when a bus carrying a wedding party fell off a mountain road in west Nepal, injuring 34 others. In August 2024, 14 people were killed after a bus transporting Indian pilgrims tumbled 500 feet into a ravine near the Marsyangdi River, leaving 16 injured. Just weeks before that incident, two buses carrying 59 passengers were swept into a river by a landslide in Chitwan district. Authorities continue to stress the urgent need for improved road safety measures in the mountainous nation.