KATHMANDU: At least 14 people were killed and six others injured on Thursday when a microbus they were travelling in plunged down a hilly road in Nepal while they were returning home for the Chhath festival, police said.

The accident occurred around 5:45 am in Makwanpur district of Bagmati province, according to an information officer at the District Police Office.

The vehicle, travelling from Kathmandu to Sarlahi district, plunged around 300 metres down a hilly section of the Bhimfedi-Kulekhani-Kathmandu road in Bhimfedi Rural Municipality.

Fourteen people, including the driver, were killed in the accident, according to Basanta Adhikari, chief district officer.

Six injured passengers were admitted to a local hospital in Hetauda Municipality for treatment.

The cause of the accident is yet to be established.

The vehicle was carrying residents of Sarlahi district returning to their homes from Kathmandu to celebrate the Hindu festival Chhath, which falls on Sunday this year.

Chhath is observed by the Hindu community mainly in the Terai, the southern plains of Nepal.