Nine people were killed and six others injured in a traffic accident in Arghakhanchi District of western Nepal on Sunday, police said.

The jeep skidded off the mountain road at Hansapur area of the district, some 350 km west of the capital Kathmandu, and plunged some 500 meters down into a local river, killing nine people on the spot, police officer Kulchandra Pokharel told local media.

The passenger jeep was en route to Bandikot area of Pyuthan from Sandhikharka, the district headquarters of Arghakhanchi district when it slipped off the highway, witnesses told local media.

The accident was the third deadly one in the Himalayan nation in three weeks. 22 people were killed and 17 others injured in a bus accident in Chitwan of central Nepal on Aug. 26.

Before that, 26 people were killed in a bus crash in Sindhupalchowk, some 100 km away from the capital on Aug 15.

The poor condition of hilly roads and ill-maintained vehicles are said to be reasons behind frequent road mishaps in Nepal.

Source : XINHUA