Nepal: Indian Embassy working to repatriate mortal remains of pilgrims killed in road accident

Kathmandu, March 16 (IANS) The Indian Embassy said on Monday that it is working with the concerned Nepali authorities to ensure an early repatriation of the mortal remains of pilgrims killed in a microbus accident in western Gorkha district on Saturday.

Seven Indian pilgrims died while returning after offering prayers at the Manakamana Temple in the district, according to the local police. Police said seven other Indian pilgrims were injured when the microbus plunged into a gorge.

“The Embassy is also assisting the injured with their treatment and safe return to India,” the Embassy said in a social media post while expressing its deepest condolences over the tragic loss of Indian lives in a road accident in Nepal.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured,” it added.

The microbus carrying the Indian pilgrims plunged off the road into a gorge in the Kantar area of Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality while it was on its way to the Anbukhaireni area of Tanahun District, a little west of the Manakamana Temple.

In August 2024, a bus carrying Indian pilgrims met with an accident in the Anbukhaireni area, killing at least 27 Indian pilgrims.

Nepal has been witnessing a rise in road accidents in recent years, along with an increase in the number of vehicles plying on its roads. A decade ago, 4,999 road accidents were reported by the Nepal Traffic Police. In the fiscal year 2024–25, the country recorded 7,669 road accidents and 190 deaths, the office said.

Of the total accidents, 278 were classified as serious. Apart from the enormous human toll, road safety also has a major economic impact.

A study by the World Bank in Nepal found that the economic cost of road traffic injuries has tripled since 2007 and now amounts to 1.5 per cent of the country’s gross national product. Road crashes also have a devastating and disproportionate impact on the poor. More than 70 per cent of all road fatality victims in Nepal are vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, the World Bank said.

--IANS

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