Five Die and One Injured in Separate Road Crashes in Rautahat and Morang

Five people have died and one sustained severe injuries following a series of road accidents across Rautahat and Morang districts over the past week, highlighting persistent concerns over traffic safety on feeder roads.

Three separate fatal incidents occurred in Rautahat district alone, claiming the lives of an elderly pedestrian, a young boy, and a motorcyclist. A fourth crash in Morang resulted in two deaths after an overloaded two-wheeler veered off the road.

In Rautahat's Gaur Municipality-9, Sirsiya, 72-year-old Narayan Baitha died after being struck by an Indian-registered motorcycle on Tuesday evening, Ratopati reported. The motorcycle, bearing registration plate BR 22 H 6159, hit Baitha at around 7:45 pm as he stood along the roadside while traveling from Gaur toward Hajminiya. Baitha was taken to Sarbottam Hospital in Birgunj, where doctors pronounced him dead around 9:45 pm. Police impounded the vehicle and identified the fleeing rider as 22-year-old Amit Bhagat, a Birgunj native residing in Rajdevi Municipality-2, who remains at large.

Earlier in the district, a six-year-old boy lost his life after being hit by a tractor in Gadhimai Municipality-7, Dharampur, according to Annapurna Post. The child, identified as Rithik Yadav, was playing outside his home along an inner road when a tractor (Na 6 Ta 8492) headed toward Paurahi struck him at around 9:15 am. He suffered critical head trauma and was declared dead at 10:30 am during treatment at Better Nepal Hospital in Garuda. The driver abandoned the vehicle at the site and fled; police are searching for the suspect.

Also in Rautahat, a 28-year-old rider died instantly in Baudhimai Municipality-8 on Thursday morning when his motorcycle went out of control along the Maulapur–Bankul inner road stretch, Nagarik News reported. The victim, identified as Jitendra Das of Paroha Municipality-9, was riding an Indian-plated motorcycle (BR 05 AU 0905) toward Bankul when the crash took place. Police noted that an investigation into the circumstances is continuing.

Meanwhile, in Koshi Province, a motorcycle crash in Morang district left two dead and one person severely wounded on Friday night, Annapurna Post reported. Three men were traveling on a single motorcycle (Me 4 Pa 746) from Jante Bazaar toward Pathari when the rider lost control at Hattichok in Letang Municipality-9 at approximately 10:35 pm.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Makendra Kumar Mishra, information officer for the Morang District Police Office, confirmed that the rider, 27-year-old Kumar Nepali, and pillion passenger Sandesh Nepali, 25, both residents of Jhapa, died during emergency care around midnight. Kumar succumbed to injuries at Madan Bhandari Hospital and Trauma Centre in Mangalbare, while Sandesh died at Neuro Hospital in Biratnagar. A third rider, 32-year-old Amar Nepali of Pathari Sanischare Municipality-8, sustained severe injuries and is receiving treatment at Neuro Hospital.