Autopsy underway of 27 Indians killed in Nepal bus accident: Report
Kathmandu (PTI): The post-mortem of the 27 Indian pilgrims who were killed in the tragic bus accident in Nepal was underway in a hospital in the Bagmati province on Saturday, ahead of the transportation of the bodies to Maharashtra, a media report said.
At least 27 Indian pilgrims, all from Maharashtra, who were in Nepal for a 10-day tour, were killed and 16 others injured after their bus veered off the highway and fell into a fast-flowing river in central Nepal on Friday.
The post-mortem of bodies is being held in the Bharatpur Hospital in the Chitwan district of the Bagmati province, the MyRepublica news portal reported.
The bodies were sent from the Anbu Khaireni Hospital to Chitwan for a post-mortem, the report said, quoting Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Rai.
An Indian Air Force plane will transport the bodies to Nashik today, a Maharastra state government release said on Friday in Mumbai.
According to the police, the bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh carrying 43 passengers, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara when it met with the accident at Aanboo Khaireni area along the Marsyangdi River in Tanahun district around noon.
While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of Nepal's Armed Police Force (APF) Shailendra Thapa told PTI.
The 16 people who sustained injuries have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he added.
The reason for the accident is not yet known. The accident site lies on the national highway, some 90 km west of Kathmandu.
The bus, with an Uttar Pradesh number plate, fell around 150 metres down the hilly road along the bank of Marsyangdi river and will be lifted with the help of a crane.
According to a report in the news portal, the passengers onboard the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a tour of the Himalayan nation. The victims were from Varangaon, Daryapur, Talvel and Bhusaval in Jalgaon district, 470 km from Mumbai, officials said.
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Cummins doubtful for T20 World Cup? It's quite grey right now, says Aus head coach
Melbourne (PTI): Australia skipper Pat Cummins' chances of playing at next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka are "quite grey at the moment" as he battles a back stress issue that has affected his participation in the ongoing Ashes series against England.
Cummins returned to play the third Ashes Test in Adelaide after missing the opening two matches, picking up six wickets to help Australia clinch the series 3-0.
However, the Australian Test and ODI skipper will take no further part in the series and even his participation at the T20 World Cup is also uncertain. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh is Australia's T20I captain.
"Looking forward to the World Cup, whether he will be there or not, I can't really say. It's quite grey at the moment. We're hopeful," head coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo'.
The fast bowler was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction during Australia's tour of the West Indies in July. He underwent rehabilitation before being cleared for a carefully managed return in Adelaide.
"He's pulled up fine. He won't play any part in the rest of the series and that was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return," McDonald said.
"We were taking on some risk and people that reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We've now won the series and that was the goal.
"So, to position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do and Pat's really comfortable with that," he added.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7 across India and Sri Lanka with the summit clash set for March 8.
Australia's first match is on February 11 against Ireland at Colombo. Although Cummins captains the Test and ODI teams, all-rounder Mitch Marsh leads Australia in the shortest format.
