Thabang Accident: Identity of all 20 victims established

KATHMANDU: The identity of all 20 victims of Thursday’s tragic jeep accident in Thabang of Rolpa has been established.

According to the District Police Office, Rolpa, the deceased include Gorkha Budhathoki (32), Tilkumari Budhathoki (53), Yuva BC (28), Divyan BC (10), Srijana Budhathoki (24), Sudip Budhathoki (13), and Om Kumari Budhathoki (40), all from Takura village in Sisne Rural Municipality–5 of Rukum East. The accident also claimed the lives of Meena Kami (60) and Laxmi Shah (60) of Sisne–5; Tek Prasad Basnet of Bhume–5; and Rukmina Basnet (27) of Sisne–5, all of Rukum East.

Similarly, Draupadi GC (54), Tila GC (32), Jenis GC (7), Jenisa GC (12), Sanyog GC (7), and Elina GC (25), all from Ratnapur in Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan City–16; and Dhanmaya Bista of Ghorahi–13 of Dang also died in the accident.

Yam Bahadur GC (age not specified) from Lamjung and the jeep driver Bed Bahadur BK (42) from Shantinagar Rural Municipality in Dang are also among the deceased.

The jeep, which was heading from Rukum East to Jaljala in Thabang Rural Municipality, Rolpa, met with the accident at around 3:00 pm on Thursday near Salyap in Thabang–1. It plunged about 800 meters down a cliff. There were 21 people on board.

Of them, 20 died on the spot. Only one person, Sameer Kami (32) of Sisne–5, of Rukum East, survived. Kami, who had been sitting on the roof, managed to survive by jumping off as the vehicle was about to veer off the cliff and grabbing onto a tree root.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the accident was caused by a combination of a muddy and slippery road, continuous rainfall, and overloading beyond the vehicle’s capacity.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a four-member high-level committee under Superintendent of Police Yadav Dhakal of the Lumbini Province Police Office, Tulsipur, to investigate the accident. The committee has been instructed to submit its report within three days.