17 Indians killed in Nepal as bus falls in river

Kathmandu: At least 17 Indian pilgrims were killed and more than 20 were injured on Wednesday when their bus veered off the highway and plunged into a river in Nepal, police said.

"Those killed were Indian nationals and most of them were from Gorakhpur," police officer Basu Kharel, who was involved in the rescue operation, told Xinhua.

The accident took place at 6.40 a.m. when the bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims skidded off the Prithvi highway, rolled down 150 metres and fell into Jhyapre river in Dhading district, some 50 km west of Kathmandu.

Kharel said different teams have been working for the rescue operation, which is still under way.

We are trying to ascertain the names and addresses of the accident victims, another police official said.

According to the police, all the Indian nationals were returning home after paying homage at the Pashupatinath temple.