/asia
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- The Nepalese government sent two teams to northern India on Friday to prepare to bring back the bodies of 36 pilgrims killed when their bus plunged into a river, officials said.
The accident, which happened at 5:15pm Thursday, also left seven people hurt, local reports said.
"The site of the accident is about eight hours' drive in the mountains from Nepal's western border with India," said Mod Raj Dotel, spokesman for the Nepalese Home Ministry. "The bodies will have to be released by Indian authorities and they will be brought back by land."
One of the teams has gone to the accident site in Chamoli, in Uttarakhand state in northwestern India, and another was making arrangements to bring the bodies back.
Media reports said 36 pilgrims, including women and children, died when their bus plunged into Alaknanda River while returning from Badrinath, one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites. Dotel said the Nepalese government had not received any official information about the victims.
Reports in Kathmandu said two of 36 killed died in hospital while undergoing treatment, and 21 of the dead have been identified.
Indian army, police and paramilitary teams were involved in rescue efforts.
The majority of people in Nepal and India are Hindu, and Nepalese Hindus often travel to pilgrimage sites in India.
The Hindu month of Shrawan, which falls in July and August, is considered auspicious for praying to the Hindu deity Shiva. The pilgrimage to Badrinath is dedicated to Shiva.
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