Four die as moving Bolero catches fire in Taplejung

By Our Correspondent,Phungling, Apr. 22: In a tragic incident in Taplejung district, four individuals — including three members of the same family — lost their lives after a moving Bolero vehicle caught fire from a fallen live electric wire on Monday. 

The incident occurred in the morning at Sewaro Chok in Phungling Municipality-10, along the Suketar–Kaflepati road section. 

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rabi Rawal 

of the District Police Office, Taplejung, the Bolero (registration number Me 1 Cha 3011), en route to the Pathibhara Temple from Phungling Bazaar, came into contact with an overhead electric wire that had sagged from a utility pole. 

The resulting electric shock ignited a fire in the vehicle, claiming the lives of four individuals, said police. 

The deceased have been identified as 70-year-old Binod Paudel of Bhadrapur Municipality-15, Jhapa; his 69-year-old wife Sarita Paudel; and their 16-year-old granddaughter Adhya Acharya of Lalitpur Municipality. The driver, 42-year-old Durga Bhattarai of Phungling Municipality-10, was also killed in the fire.

Two other passengers, 45-year-old Sabina Acharya and her 10-year-old son Abhiyam Acharya of Lalitpur, sustained injuries in the incident. 

Due to the unavailability of adequate medical facilities at the Taplejung District Hospital, the injured were airlifted via helicopter to HAMS Hospital in Kathmandu for advanced treatment, DSP Rawal said. 

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident and are coordinating with the Nepal Electricity Authority to address potential infrastructure hazards in the area.

The police office in Taplejung said they did not know the reason for the live wire coming down. 

However, Prajin Hangbang, the executive director of Pathibhara Development  Committee, suspected that the powerful storm, coupled with rains on Sunday night, might have led to the fall of the wire.