At least 24 feared dead after bus plunges into river in western Nepal.....

At least 24 people are feared dead after a bus plunged into a river in mountainous western Nepal, police say.

The bus was carrying at least 45 passengers when it veered off a narrow road in Jajarkot region on Thursday morning, police officer Sher Bahadur Chaudhary said.

"At least two dozen passengers are feared dead," he said.

Mr Chaudhary said the number of people on board may have been higher than the official passenger list since drivers often pick up extra travellers along the route without registering them.

Jajarkot police chief Dinesh Raj Mainali said five bodies had so far been found, including those of two children.

With the bus completely under water, divers were searching for passengers in the Bheri River as police officers scoured its banks, he said.

Mr Mainali said police had taken ten injured passengers to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Accidents are common on Nepal's highways because of poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving.

At least ten people, including a Russian woman, died this month when two buses collided along a national highway in central Nepal.

Last month a crowded bus plunged down a hill in a town outside Kathmandu, killing at least 14 people, including two Israelis.