Sadiksha Hamal, who is lying in the emergency ward of the trauma hospital, is shaking from time to time. Whether she opens or closes her eyes, the terrible accident of the morning is burning her mind.

A passenger bus (Ga 2 Kha 1421) coming from Pokhara to Kathmandu met with an accident on the Prithvi Highway at Bhainsigaunda, Benighat Rorang Rural Municipality-5, Dhading around 1:30 am on Monday. The bus lost control and fell about 200 meters below the road onto the banks of the Trishuli River. So far, 19 people have lost their lives in the 44-passenger bus accident. Sadiksha is the injured in the same accident.

Sadiksha from Tanahun used to live in Pokhara. On Sunday, she boarded a bus to Kathmandu to prepare some documents. Sadiksha was also accompanied by her friend. At the beginning of the journey, everything was normal.

‘I was sitting on the corner of the last seat of the bus, by the window. We were moving forward, enjoying ourselves. The time was exactly 12 o’clock. Then we fell asleep,’ she recounted the incident, ‘I had just fallen asleep, when suddenly there was a terrible sound. There was a bang. What happened? How did it happen? I had no idea.’

The bus fell off the road and onto a cliff. It fell apart as it overturned. The seats separated, the front part of the vehicle and other parts were scattered. She seemed to faint for a while.

‘After the bus fell, I was lying on a pile of stones and gravel a little above the river. When I woke up, three seats and a dead body were lying on top of me. Half of my body was covered in gravel,’ she recounted the horrific moment.

At that time, Sadiksha felt like she would not survive. Blood was flowing from her nose. It was also difficult to breathe. ‘But where did I get the courage? I pushed those heavy seats on top of me with my feet. After moving the seats, I also removed the dead body on top of me. The body had turned blue and was completely swollen,’ she recounted. ‘It still makes my heart ache when I remember that.’

In front of Sadiksha were the injured and the dead. ‘I was holding the hair of a boy next to me, but he had also passed away. Another boy and his uncle were in a similar situation,' she recalled. After some time, people came to rescue them. They initially carried the most seriously injured. 'I was also taken out of the sand and taken to the ambulance,' she said.

She also remembers being taken to a hospital near Muglin and given painkillers. Sadiksha has injuries to her legs and waist. Her friend is also receiving treatment at her bedside. She is also out of danger.

Man Bahadur Thapa, 44, of Tanahun, was taking leave from home and was going to Kathmandu by bus to Oman for foreign employment. Man Bahadur, who had come on leave two months ago, was about to fly on Monday evening. 'He had taken leave from home to go abroad.' Suddenly, he called in the morning and night. He said, 'I was in an accident, thank God I survived.' My heart sank,' said Manmaya, Manamaya's wife.