12 killed in Nepal road accident

KATHMANDU - At least 12 people were killed in a road accident in western Nepal Tuesday while on a pilgrimage to one of the holiest religious shrines in the Himalayan republic, police said.

The four-wheel vehicle, in which the pilgrims were travelling, veered off the road and plunged into the swirling Kaligandaki river in a village in Myagdi district.

The passengers were heading towards the northern Mustang district, famed for the shrine of Muktinath revered by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains alike.

Till Tuesday afternoon, only the car driver and his assistant were identified. The dead include six women and six men. A male passenger survived after he jumped out of the vehicle, police said.

The cause of the accident was not known immediately.

(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at sudeshna.s@ians.in)