Seven Indian Pilgrims Killed As Bus Falls Into Gorge In Nepal’s Gorkha District

At least seven Indian pilgrims were killed after a microbus plunged off a road into a gorge in Gorkha District on Saturday evening, police said. The victims were returning after offering prayers at the Manakamana Temple when the accident occurred in the Kantar area of Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality.

Raj Kumar Shrestha, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at the District Police Office in Gorkha, said the pilgrims died after the microbus veered off the road and fell into a gorge.

“Seven pilgrims have been injured and have been sent to Chitwan Medical College in Bharatpur, Chitwan district, for treatment,” Shrestha said. Police added that the rescue operation was still underway.

According to local authorities, the microbus was carrying more than a dozen passengers at the time of the accident.

“The microbus was heading towards the Anbukhaireni area of Tanahun district, west of the Manakamana Temple, but it is not immediately clear where the passengers were heading after concluding their visit to the temple,” Tulasi Bahadur Shrestha told IANS.

Police said the cause of the accident remains unknown. The electric microbus carrying the Indian pilgrims reportedly met with the accident on a steep stretch of the road.

Rising Road Accidents In Nepal

The tragedy comes amid growing concerns over road safety in Nepal. In August 2024, a bus carrying Indian pilgrims had met with an accident in the Anbukhaireni area, killing at least 27 people.

Nepal has witnessed a steady rise in road accidents in recent years, partly due to increasing vehicle numbers. A decade ago, the Nepal Traffic Police reported 4,999 road accidents.

In the fiscal year 2024–25, the country recorded 7,669 accidents and 190 deaths, according to official data. Of these, 278 were classified as serious.

A study by the World Bank found that the economic cost of road traffic injuries in Nepal has tripled since 2007 and now amounts to 1.5 per cent of the country’s gross national product.

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