Photo: Collected
The death toll in the road accident in Nepal's Tanahun district has risen to 41, Indian broadcaster NDTV reports.
Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan confirmed the deaths during a press conference in Mumbai on Friday (23 August).
A bus carrying around 43 passengers, mostly Indian tourists, veered off the road into the Marsyangdi River at Ainapahara in Nepal's Tanahun District on Aug 23.
During the press conference, Mahajan said the state government is in contact with the Nepal administration and the Embassy of Delhi to coordinate the relief efforts.
"Forty-one people have died in Nepal after it plunged into the river. We connected with the Embassy in Delhi also. 12 people have been shifted by the Nepal Army to the hospital," the minister said.
The exact figure is yet to be ascertained and most passengers hailed from Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, he said.
"We don't have the exact figure. There are 16-18 more but there can be casualties among them. We are continuously in touch with the district administration and the military and I have also interacted with Dy CM. The rescue efforts are still underway," he added.
According to officials, the bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara when it met with the accident.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who oversees the disaster relief and rehabilitation department, spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior central officials on Friday about the repatriation of bodies of deceased Indian tourists. Amit Shah assured CM Shinde of the full cooperation from the central government.
According to the Chief Minister's Office, a special Indian Air Force aircraft will bring the bodies of 24 tourists to Nashik on Sunday and the bodies will then be handed over to their families.
CM Shinde earlier offered condolences over the deaths and conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families.
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