A passenger bus carrying 44 individuals veered off a highway and crashed onto the banks of the Trishuli River in Nepal early Monday, February 23, resulting in 19 deaths and 25 injuries in what has become the nation’s deadliest road incident in recent months.

The bus was en route from the popular tourist hub of Pokhara to Kathmandu when it slipped off the Prithvi Highway at around 1:30 a.m. near Bhainsegaunda in Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality, Dhading district—about 50 miles west of the capital. It plunged roughly 200 metres (650 feet) down a steep hillside before crashing onto the rocky riverbank.

The bus had left Pokhara Tourist Bus Park at 7 p.m. on Sunday, initially carrying 34 passengers, plus the driver and two staff members. Additional riders boarded along the journey—common on Nepali highways—bringing the total to 44 people, consisting of 29 men and 15 women.

Rescue efforts were difficult, with Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police personnel working through the night across rugged terrain to extract survivors from the wreck. A specialized diving team from the Armed Police Force’s Disaster Management Training School in Kurintar assisted with the recovery. The operation concluded around 6:30 a.m.

Among those killed was 23-year-old British citizen Dominic Stewart, who had just completed a trek along the Annapurna Circuit. The bus owner, Om Kumar Shrestha, was also on board and died at the scene. A 40-year-old Chinese woman and a 32-year-old Indian man were among the foreign victims. Other fatalities included Nepali passengers aged 30 to 63 from districts such as Pokhara, Syangja, Tanahun, and Palpa.

The injured included a 27-year-old woman from New Zealand who suffered minor wounds and received treatment locally, and a 12-year-old Chinese national receiving care for head trauma 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 established a five-member investigative panel after a high-level meeting led by Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal. Local officials stated that the cause of the crash is still unknown. “The cause of the accident has not yet been identified, as the bus was travelling in its own lane,” said Bijaya Raj Subedi, Chief District Officer of Dhading. Early reports suggest the bus may have gone out of control before leaving the road, and police are assessing whether excessive speed played a role.

Rescue teams faced harsh conditions, including darkness, uneven terrain, and fast-moving river currents at the remote crash location. Emergency responders worked through the night to recover bodies and move the injured to nearby medical centers in Malekhu and Dhadingbesi, with more severe cases transferred to hospitals in Kathmandu.

The Prithvi Highway—connecting Nepal’s two largest cities—has been the site of numerous accidents in recent years. Its sharp turns, narrow sections, and limited guardrails make it particularly hazardous, especially during nighttime travel. Bus crashes are frequent across Nepal, commonly attributed to poorly maintained roads and vehicles.

Monday’s deadly crash is the worst in a series of major road tragedies that have taken more than 40 lives nationwide in just three weeks. Earlier in the month, 13 people died in a wedding bus accident in Baitadi, followed days later by another crash in Ramechhap that killed 12.

In July 2024, two buses carrying over 60 passengers were swept into the Trishuli River by a massive landslide on the Narayanghat-Mugling road section. Most victims were killed or remain missing. One of the buses—the Ganapati Deluxe—was discovered in January 2026, buried in riverbed sand nearly 18 months after the incident. In December 2022, an overloaded minibus carrying wedding guests crashed off a mountain road near Chedagad village in Karnali province, plunging about 650 feet and killing 12 passengers.

Nepal documented 7,669 road accidents in the 2024-25 fiscal year, resulting in 190 fatalities. Authorities labeled 278 of these incidents as serious. According to a World Bank study, the economic toll of road traffic injuries in Nepal has tripled since 2007 and now equals roughly 1.5 percent of the country’s gross national product. More than 70 percent of road deaths involve vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

The rise in accidents aligns with an increasing volume of vehicles on Nepal’s roads, many of which navigate hazardous mountain routes featuring sharp turns, steep cliffs, and minimal barriers. The country’s infrastructure struggles to keep up with growing traffic, especially along tourist routes linking major cities and trekking destinations.

Family members and locals gathered near the crash location as authorities moved recovered bodies to hospitals for formal identification. The investigation is ongoing as officials work to determine why a routine overnight journey between two of Nepal’s busiest destinations ended in disaster.