A passenger bus with 44 people on board plunged off a highway onto the banks of the Trishuli River in Nepal early Monday, February 23, killing 19 individuals and injuring 25 in what has become the country’s most fatal road accident in recent months.
The bus was en route from the well‑known tourist hub of Pokhara to Kathmandu when it skidded off the Prithvi Highway at around 1:30 a.m. near Bhainsegaunda in Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality, Dhading district—roughly 50 miles west of Kathmandu. It fell nearly 200 metres (650 feet) down a steep hillside before crashing onto the rocky riverbank.
The vehicle had left the Pokhara Tourist Bus Park at 7 p.m. on Sunday with 34 passengers, along with the driver and two staff members. More travelers boarded en route, which is common on Nepal’s highways—bringing the total onboard to 44 people, including 29 men and 15 women, at the time of the accident.
Rescue teams encountered major obstacles after the crash, with members of the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police working through the night and over rugged terrain to reach survivors. A specialized diving team from the Armed Police Force’s Disaster Management Training School in Kurintar joined the effort. The rescue operation wrapped up around 6:30 a.m.
Among those killed was 23-year-old British citizen Dominic Stewart, who had just completed a trek on the Annapurna Circuit. The bus owner, Om Kumar Shrestha, was also onboard and died at the site. The deceased also included a 40-year-old woman from China and a 32-year-old man from India. Other identified victims were Nepali nationals aged 30 to 63 from areas such as Pokhara, Syangja, Tanahun, and Palpa.
The injured include a 27-year-old woman from New Zealand who received minor treatment at a local hospital, as well as a 12-year-old Chinese national receiving treatment for head injuries at Kathmandu’s National Trauma Centre.
“We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Nepal and are in contact with the local authorities,” a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has created a five-member task force to look into the crash after a high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal. District officials noted that the cause remains unclear. “The cause of the accident has not yet been identified, as the bus was travelling in its own lane,” stated Bijaya Raj Subedi, Chief District Officer of Dhading. Preliminary findings suggest the bus became uncontrollable before leaving the road, and investigators are examining whether speeding played a role.
Rescue efforts were hampered by darkness, uneven terrain, and strong river currents at the remote site. Emergency teams worked through the early morning hours to retrieve bodies and transport the injured to facilities in Malekhu and Dhadingbesi, with the most critical cases sent to Kathmandu hospitals.
The Prithvi Highway, which connects Nepal’s two largest cities, has been the site of numerous tragedies in recent years. Its sharp curves, narrow shoulders, and limited guardrails make it especially hazardous at night. Bus accidents remain frequent throughout Nepal, largely attributed to poorly maintained infrastructure and vehicles.
Monday’s crash is the deadliest in a concerning series of major road incidents that have claimed more than 40 lives in Nepal over just three weeks. Earlier this month, a wedding bus accident in Baitadi killed 13 people, followed days later by another bus crash in Ramechhap that resulted in 12 more deaths.
In July 2024, two buses carrying over 60 people were swept into the Trishuli River by a massive landslide along the Narayanghat-Mugling stretch. Most victims were killed or remain unaccounted for. One of the buses—the Ganapati Deluxe—was found in January 2026, buried beneath riverbed sand nearly a year and a half later. In December 2022, an overloaded minibus taking wedding guests crashed near Chedagad village in Karnali province, rolling about 650 feet down a mountainside and killing 12 people.
Nepal reported 7,669 road accidents in fiscal year 2024–25, causing 190 deaths. Authorities labeled 278 of these as serious. According to a World Bank study, the economic toll of road traffic injuries in Nepal has tripled since 2007 and now accounts for around 1.5 percent of the nation’s gross national product. More than 70 percent of road fatalities involve vulnerable users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
The rise in accidents parallels an increase in vehicles on Nepal’s roads, many of which snake through dangerous mountain terrain marked by sharp turns, steep cliffs, and limited safety barriers. Road infrastructure development has struggled to keep up with growing traffic, especially along popular tourist routes linking major cities and trekking areas.
Family members and local residents gathered near the site as authorities transported recovered bodies to hospitals for official identification. The investigation is ongoing as officials work to determine how the bus lost control during what should have been a routine overnight trip between two of Nepal’s most visited destinations.
