Kathmandu, Nepal: A crowded bus veered off a road and plunged down a hillside in central Nepal on Monday, killing at least 25 people, a local official said.

The bus was heading from Kathmandu to the town of Kavre, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of the capital, when it plummeted some 500 metres down a slope.

‘At least 25 people have died in the accident,’ Bhim Kanta Sharma, the deputy district chief of Kavre, told AFP.

‘Rescue workers are still recovering bodies but rain is making their work difficult. We cannot ascertain the final toll right now.’

Sharma said an army helicopter had airlifted 26 of the injured to Kathmandu for treatment and another 13 were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Accidents are relatively common on Nepal’s highways because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving, and death tolls running into double figures are frequent.