Story highlights

The bus hit a pole before plummeting many feet

13 people were injured

Bad roads, old vehicles and inexperienced drivers cause frequent accidents in the mountains

A bus plunged down a steep slope Saturday in Nepal killing at least 30 people and injuring 13 more, police said.

The accident occurred in the Doti district about 375 miles west of the capital Kathmandu, when the bus hit a pole on the side of the road and plummeted nearly 700 feet, said police spokesman Ramesh Bahadur Dhanuk.

The injured are being treated at nearby hospitals. The bus driver is among them.

Poor roads, old buses, inexperienced drivers and overcrowding contribute to frequent traffic accidents in the mountains of Nepal.

Last month 15 people died in a mishap in the Surkhet district about 250 miles west of Kathmandu.