POKHARA, Oct 9: Pokhara Metropolitan City has formed a five-member committee to investigate a school bus accident in Kaski district that killed five people, including four students, and injured 15 others.
The bus with registration number Ga 2 Kha 1417, operated by Kalika Secondary School, was traveling from Majhthana in Pokhara-28 towards Kalikasthan when it crashed at Okhle Bhir, killing three female students, one male student and an adult passenger.
Kaski police identified the deceased as Mamata Tiwari, 15, Shubhechha Tiwari, 15, Rumika Nepali, 14, Asim Kandel, 13, and Baburam Tiwari, 65. Tiwari had reportedly boarded the school bus after asking for a lift.
Rescuers pulled the victims from the crash site unconscious and rushed them to the Western Regional Hospital, also known as Gandaki Hospital, under the Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences. Doctors declared all five dead on arrival.
The accident injured 15 others, including one student in critical condition. Dr Santosh Baniya of the hospital’s emergency department said Asmi Kandel, 15, had sustained serious head and back injuries.
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Other injured students included Aakriti Budhathoki, 14, Sneha Gautam, 14, Sonia Tiwari, 13, and Ankit Parajuli, 13, from Kalika in Pokhara-28.
The injured also included Smriti Khatri, 15, Sneha Tiwari, 16, Aakriti Budhathoki, 14, Merina Tiwari, 15, Supriya Acharya, 14, and Yaman Magar, 16, from Madi Rural Municipality-12.
The bus driver, Tul Bahadur Gurung, 57, of Pokhara-15, also sustained injuries. Dr Baniya said the injured students had suffered head injuries, while Gurung had injuries to his chest and back.
Srishti Tiwari, 16, Shisan Thapa Magar, 16, and Saugat Timilsina, 16, all from Pokhara-28, also sustained injuries to their heads, backs and hands. They remain conscious and able to speak, Dr Baniya said. Some of the injured were in moderate condition, while others had sustained minor injuries, he added.
Relatives of the deceased and injured crowded the hospital throughout Friday. Grieving family members demanded an impartial investigation into the accident.
Authorities have yet to establish the cause of the crash. Preliminary assessments suggest a possible mechanical failure, as the bus appeared to be in very poor condition.
Although authorities identified it as a school bus, the vehicle did not have the required yellow paint. Investigators found that operators had been using a bus that normally runs between Pokhara and Begnas as a school bus.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Birendra Kumar Paswan, spokesperson for Kaski District Police, said investigators could not yet determine the exact cause because the injured driver was unable to speak. Police will establish the cause after further investigation, he said.
Following the accident, Pokhara Mayor Dhan Raj Acharya, Deputy Mayor Manju Devi Gurung and Kaski Police Chief Superintendent of Police Nabin Karki visited the crash site and met the injured and the victims’ relatives.
Pokhara forms five-member investigation committee
Pokhara Metropolitan City has formed a five-member committee under Senior Education Officer Badrinath Subedi to investigate the accident. The committee includes mechanical engineer Saroj Chalise, Metropolitan Education Committee member Dol Raj Pandey, Municipal Police Inspector Purushottam Thapa and Traffic Police Assistant Sub-Inspector Amrit Bhattarai.
The metropolitan city has instructed the committee to establish the facts, determine the cause of the accident and submit a report. Mayor Acharya said the committee would also assess the condition of the school bus and recommend measures to ensure students’ safe transportation and prevent similar accidents in the future.
