Poor road infrastructure and reckless driving are the leading causes of accidents in Nepal, Image credit: Al Jazeera

23 people died and 14 others were seriously injured when a bus carrying college students and their teachers back from an educational trip veered off a mountainous road and lunged into a ravine in Nepal.

The fatal crash occurred on Friday when the bus was returning from Kapurkot in Salyan district, news agency reported.

According to the District Police Office, Dang, there were 37 persons —34 students, two teachers and a diver, on the ill-fated bus, which drove off the road and fell some 700 metres down near Ramri village, about 400 kilometres west of the capital Kathmandu.

Fourteen persons, including five women, were injured in the incident.

The students and instructors from Krishna Sen Ichhuk Polytechnic Institute had been visiting a farm for their botany project, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Poor road infrastructure and reckless driving are the leading causes of accidents in Nepal.