35 feared dead in bus plunge

UP TO 35 people were killed yesterday after a bus plunged into a river in the mountains of western Nepal, police said.

A passenger claimed Maoist rebels had planted explosives on the highway, prompting the driver to skid off the road.

Two bodies have been recovered and five other people were rescued with injuries. But we can't get down to the rest of them and presume that 33 to 35 people have died," a police officer said.