When we were in Nepal last November, we were on a bus bouncing along very skinny, potholed roads, banked toward massive drop-offs to riverbeds thousands of feet below which has never bothered me before—but then I'd never traveled them as a mother, and never with my kids in the bus with me. So I was the big fat party pooper when, after arriving in a bigger village, I carted my family off the bus and hired a small Jeep to get us to Kathmandu. "Aw Mom! Seriously? And you call yourself a traveler??"
"Yep. I was a traveler for many years. Now I'm a smart traveler."
The week before this particular ride a bus had gone over a cliff, and the same the week after. And in between that one and this one posted below from the Gulf Times, many more. It breaks my heart every time. And the thought of experiencing it horrifies me to the core.
Not saying Jeeps don't go over; they do as well. I was just hedging my bets with its turn radius. And for $25, it was a cheap bet.
30 killed in central Nepal after bus plunges over cliff
Viewed by: 22
11:43 PM
3
November
2015
AFP
Kathmandu
A packed passenger bus plunged over a cliff and killed 30 people in central Nepal yesterday, a senior local official said.
Rescuers struggled to recover bodies and help the injured to safety after the bus fell 200m (656ft) off the mountainous road in Rasuwa district, home to the popular Langtang trekking route.
“Of the 30 dead, 29 were recovered from the accident site and one died while undergoing treatment,” district chief Shiva Ram Gelal said, adding that one of those killed was an infant.
“We have sent 35 other people who were wounded to nearby hospitals and we are continuing to search the area,” Gelal said.
Gelal said the cause of the accident was not clear yet. But injured passengers said the vehicle was overcrowded, with people travelling on the roof, he added.
Shiva Acharya, one of the passengers who escaped the incident after jumping from the bus, said the incident took place after the front wheel of the bus got punctured.
Security personnel from the army, police and armed police force were pressed into service for the rescue operation.
Langtang was devastated in the massive earthquake that hit the Himalayan country in April, killing nearly 9,000 people.
As well as destroying more than half a million homes, the quake caused severe damage to roads in the impoverished nation.
Deadly crashes are relatively common in Nepal because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
Kathmandu
A packed passenger bus plunged over a cliff and killed 30 people in central Nepal yesterday, a senior local official said.
Rescuers struggled to recover bodies and help the injured to safety after the bus fell 200m (656ft) off the mountainous road in Rasuwa district, home to the popular Langtang trekking route.
“Of the 30 dead, 29 were recovered from the accident site and one died while undergoing treatment,” district chief Shiva Ram Gelal said, adding that one of those killed was an infant.
“We have sent 35 other people who were wounded to nearby hospitals and we are continuing to search the area,” Gelal said.
Gelal said the cause of the accident was not clear yet. But injured passengers said the vehicle was overcrowded, with people travelling on the roof, he added.
Shiva Acharya, one of the passengers who escaped the incident after jumping from the bus, said the incident took place after the front wheel of the bus got punctured.
Security personnel from the army, police and armed police force were pressed into service for the rescue operation.
Langtang was devastated in the massive earthquake that hit the Himalayan country in April, killing nearly 9,000 people.
As well as destroying more than half a million homes, the quake caused severe damage to roads in the impoverished nation.
Deadly crashes are relatively common in Nepal because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.
I'll contribute the $25 and more all day long. Be safe, all of you. Do the smart thing. Leave the testosterone to the young males in football. ;)
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