25 killed as Nepalese bus hits rebel land mine

At least 25 people were killed and dozens more were wounded today when a crowded bus detonated a land mine planted by suspected communist rebels in Nepal’s south.

The bus, travelling on a rural road, was ripped apart when it drove over the mine near Badarmude village, killing 25 people instantly, an army official said.

Another 36 people were wounded, some of them critically, and were taken to nearby hospitals, the army official said.

Badarmude, in Nepal’s Chitwan district, is about 112 miles south-west of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

Police suspect the land mine was planted by Maoist rebels, who have been fighting since 1996 to abolish Nepal’s constitutional monarchy and set up a communist state.

The guerrillas claim to be inspired by Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong. More than 11,500 people have died in the fighting.