Kathmandu, April 30 (AHN) The death toll from a jeep crash in Thawang Rural Municipality of western Rolpa district has reached 20, the District Administration Office, Rolpa, said.

A jeep carrying 22 passengers plunged 700 metres off the road, killing most of those on board on the spot.

“So far, 20 have been confirmed dead, while two are undergoing treatment at a local hospital,” Ganga Bahadur Kshetry, Chief District Officer of Rolpa, told AHN.

The incident happened on Thursday evening after the ill-fated jeep slipped off the muddy road amid rain in the area.

“The exact cause of the accident has not been known yet,” Kshetry said.

According to police, the private jeep had been hired by locals travelling to attend the Baisakh Purnima festival on Friday in the Jaljala area of the district.

Nepal has been witnessing a rise in road accidents in recent years, along with an increase in the number of vehicles plying the roads.

A decade ago, the Nepal Traffic Police reported 4,999 road accidents.

In the fiscal year 2024–25, the country recorded 7,669 road accidents and 190 deaths, according to official data.

Of the total accidents, 278 were classified as serious.

Apart from the human toll, road safety also has a major economic impact.

A World Bank study in Nepal found that the economic cost of road traffic injuries has tripled since 2007, now accounting for 1.5 per cent of the country’s gross national product.

Road crashes also have a disproportionate impact on the poor.

More than 70 per cent of all road fatality victims in Nepal are vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, the World Bank said.