At least 27 Indian pilgrims, all from Maharashtra, who arrived 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.

Police said 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 Tanahu district around noon.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is coordinating the search and rescue operations with local authorities.

'@IndiainNepal is grieved to confirm the death of 27 Indians in the unfortunate road accident in Tanahun. Remaining 16 passengers have been airlifted to Kathmandu for further treatment at TU Teaching Hospital. Embassy mourns the loss of lives & prays for early recovery of the injured,' the Indian Embassy at Kathmandu posted on X later in the evening.

'@IndiainNepal continues to be in constant touch with local authorities and the hospital staff for treatment of the injured and earliest repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to India,' the Mission said and provided three numbers that it said would be available 24X7 for emergency response.

The reason for the accident is not yet known. The accident site lies on the national highway, some 90 km west of Kathmandu.

While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of 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 dead bodies will be handed over to their family members after post-mortem, Thapa said, adding it will be conducted on Saturday at Western Regional Health Science Academy in Pokhara.

The bus, with an Uttar Pradesh number plate that fell around 150 metre down the hilly road, is still lying along the bank of Marsyangdi river and will be lifted with the help of a crane on Saturday, he said.

Thapa said 250 security personnel, including from Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, were mobilised for rescue works. Twin rope was used to conduct the rescue operation as the accident site lies in a deep and narrow gorge near the Marsyangdi River, he said.

According to a report in MyRepublica 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 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation.

The victims were from Varangaon, Daryapur, Talvel and Bhusaval in Jalgaon district, 470 km from Mumbai. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning.

Madhav Pad Paudel, chief of the Armed Police Force (APF), Kurintar, said that most of the passengers travelling in these three buses were families and relatives.

The Nepal government has released a list of names of the 43 deceased passengers.

The Indian mission is coordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue.

Earlier, an MI 17 helicopter of the Nepal Army was deployed to transport injured passengers from the accident site with a medical team for the rescue operation, MyRepublica reported.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has written to the Centre, requesting that a special flight of the Indian Air Force be arranged to bring back the injured as well as the mortal remains of the deceased.

Earlier in the day, the Uttar Pradesh government deployed a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to the incident site and appointed an assistant DM (ADM) to coordinate the relief work.

Nepal's rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain and monsoon months from June to September also often trigger landslides.

Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult for any kind of rescue work.

Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal.

The bodies from the two buses were washed away as far as 100 kilometres. Bodies of five Indians have been recovered while two are still missing.