Children die in Nepal bus crash

A crowded bus has veered off a highway in southern Nepal, killing more than 20 people, most of them schoolchildren, police have said.

The bus, which was returning from a picnic, went off the road near Mukundapur, some 200km (125 miles) southwest of the capital Kathmandu.

At least 57 more people were injured in the incident.

Road accidents are common in Nepal and claim hundreds of lives every year. There are no speed limits on highways.

A police officer told AFP news agency that the bus was carrying around 80 children - most of them aged nine or 10 - when the incident happened late on Thursday.

It was also carrying a number of teachers escorting them back from the picnic.

"The bus was speeding and overturned, then fell 50ft (15m) off the road," Kal Bahadur Gurung said.

The injured were being treated in several hospitals, the police said.