A tour bus packed with passengers drove off the side of a mountain roadway in Nepal on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, leading to a total of 14 deaths and dozens of injuries to those on board at the time. The bus was driving along a road some 30 miles northwest of Kathmandu when it tipped over sideways, causing the bus and all on board to tumble down the side of a very steep, almost cliff-like slope.
According to witnesses, the bus was beyond overloaded, with more than a dozen people riding atop the roof of the vehicle. At this time, the overcrowding is the prime suspect for the cause of the crash. Investigators suspect that the weight distribution from all of the passengers may have caused the bus to tip, inevitably leading to the devastating crash. It has been reported that more than 100 people were on board at the time of the accident, when the safe capacity for the bus is around half that number.
The bus was reportedly heading back to its point of origin at the time of the accident, carrying many tourists (several of them native to Israel, including at least two of the deceased) as well as dozens of Nepalese people who were heading back home to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Several of the people on board, including the Israeli nationals, were en route to the Langtang region of the country of Nepal, a popular trekking area.
When the bus fell off the roadway, it slid more than 300 feet to its final resting place. Damage to the vehicle was total, as the impact of the crash caused it to essentially smash to pieces in the valley below. At least 20 people are still recovering in area hospitals as a result of the crash, though no reports regarding the extent of their injuries have been released at this time.
Driving in Nepal is treacherous at best, and deadly at worst. Reports released by the Kathmandu Traffic Police show a 130 percent spike in traffic accidents within the nation’s capital over the past five years. Nepal alone is reported to have been the site of 9 percent of all road accident deaths across the globe. Poor road conditions and unsafe driving are thought to be contributing factors to this alarming proportion of traffic accidents within the nation.