KATHMANDU, July 27 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people died and 22 others were injured when a passenger bus collided head-on with a lorry along the Prithvi Highway in Chitwan district of central Nepal on Friday, police said.

The passenger bus skidded off the highway at Chumlingar area in Chitwan district, and plunged some 70 meters down into gorge after it collided with the lorry coming from the opposite direction.

Four people died on the spot while three critically injured were pronounced dead in course of treatment in local hospital Friday evening, senior police official Diwas Dhakal told the media.

The injured have been undergoing treatment in Chitwan-based different hospitals.

The ill-fated bus was en route to Syanja district of western Nepal from capital city Kathmandu.

Police and villagers helped recover injured people and bodies from the wreckage on the site, which is 120 km from Kathmandu.

Road mishaps are frequent in Nepal due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles, reports say.