A journey home for Chhath turns deadly

Sanjay Yadav was heading home to Sarlahi from Kathmandu to celebrate Chhath. He boarded a microbus at 3am on Thursday, accompanied by neighbours and relatives from his village, all bound for the same festival gathering. But as the vehicle, bearing registration number Madhesh Province 03-001 Ja 0880, reached Chisapani Gadhi in Bhimphedi Rural Municipality-6 of Makawanpur district, the journey turned into a tragedy. At around 5:45am, the microbus suddenly veered off the road and plunged around 700 metres down a steep slope.

Most of the passengers were asleep at the time. “The vehicle had stopped at Chisapani Gadhi. As the driver tried to move forward, it suddenly lurched and plunged down the slope. I fell with it,” he said.

“I somehow landed a little higher up the slope as the vehicle went down. I was injured, but survived. I think many others died.” Yadav was thrown out of the vehicle midway through its fall. He said he realised only later that the microbus had overturned and come to rest far below.