Kathmandu, March 15: A tragic road accident in Nepal‘s Gorkha district claimed the lives of at least seven Indian pilgrims on Saturday evening. The incident occurred as the pilgrims were returning from a visit to the Manakamana Temple.
According to police reports, an electric microbus carrying the pilgrims skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in the Kantar area of Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality.
Raj Kumar Shrestha, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the Gorkha District Police Office, confirmed that seven other pilgrims sustained injuries and have been transported to Chitwan Medical College in Bharatpur for treatment. Rescue operations are currently underway.
Local authorities indicated that the microbus was carrying over a dozen passengers. Tulsi Bahadur Shrestha, the Chief District Officer of Gorkha, stated that the microbus was heading west from the Manakamana Temple towards the Anbukhaireni area of Tanahun district. However, it remains unclear where the passengers were headed after their temple visit.
The police have yet to determine the cause of the accident, although it is known that the electric microbus crashed on a bend of the hilly road.
This incident follows a similar tragedy in August 2024, when a bus carrying Indian pilgrims in the Anbukhaireni area met with an accident, resulting in the deaths of at least 27 individuals.
In recent years, Nepal has witnessed a surge in road accidents. According to data from the Nepal Traffic Police, the number of recorded road accidents increased from 4,999 a decade ago to 7,669 in the fiscal year 2024-25.
A World Bank study has reported that the economic losses from road accidents in Nepal have tripled since 2007, now accounting for approximately 1.5 percent of the country’s Gross National Product. The report also highlights that vulnerable groups are disproportionately affected by road accidents, with over 70 percent of fatalities involving pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.