At least 38 people were killed and dozens more wounded yesterday when a crowded bus detonated a land mine planted by suspected communist rebels in Nepal's south, an army official said.
The bus was traveling on a rural highway near the village of Badarmude when it was ripped apart by the explosion, an army official said on condition of anonymity. Army officials are not allowed to reveal their names in Nepal for security reasons.
Thirty-eight people died and 72 others were wounded, some of them critically, the official said.
A nearby hospital was overwhelmed with patients, with not enough doctors to perform surgery, local reporters said.
Police suspect the land mine was planted by Maoist rebels, who have been fighting since 1996 to abolish Nepal's constitutional monarchy and set up a communist state.
The guerrillas have stepped up violence since Feb. 1, when King Gyanendra took control of the government and imposed a state of emergency that was lifted in April.
Government troops moved in after the blast, searching for rebels and taking control of the area 180km southwest of the capital Kathmandu, according to army headquarters.
Some of the injured were being flown to Kathmandu on army helicopters, while about 18 were transported on ambulances to a nearby district hospital at Bharatpur.
At least three children were in critical condition, local reporters said.
The injured passengers said they had no indication there would be a mine on the rural road.
"There was a small bang and then our bus was thrown in the air. The bus was ripped into pieces and many people were killed," said Khum Bahadur Gurung, 62, who spoke from his hospital bed.
Gurung's legs were battered in the explosion.
Another eyewitness, Surya Gurung, 20, said the bus was crowded with nearly 100 people. When he regained consciousness he was in the hospital.
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