Bus-crash death toll rises in Nepal

The death toll in a mountain bus crash in Nepal has reached 36, officials said today.

Soldiers, policemen and villagers have recovered 19 more bodies from a mountain river in western Nepal where the crash happened on Monday.

Police official Navraj Thapa said there were still “many more bodies trapped in the wreckage”.

“We have been able to pull out only part of the bus from the water,” he said.

Fresh rain flooded the river today, making rescue operations more difficult in the mountain river, which has high currents and is murky.

The bus was carrying mostly Buddhist pilgrims when it plunged down into Rapti river.

Rescuers found 17 bodies on Monday and 19 more today.