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At least 24 people are killed as a bus and a container truck collide near Kaziranga National Park in India’s Assam
- What happened
- A bus and a container truck collided head-on on a highway in Assam, north-east India, on Friday, killing at least 24 people and injuring 11.
- Why it matters
- Children, college students and the bus driver were among the dead on a road through an animal corridor with strict speed limits.
- What’s next
- Police expect the toll to rise, and officials say an investigation will establish the cause after witnesses said a vehicle may have been speeding.
How this story developed
- 16:02First report
- 18:162nd source
- 18:16Confirmed
- 19:013rd source
- 16:02First reportSouth China Morning Post
- 18:162nd sourceBBC News World
- 18:16ConfirmedWas: Single source
- 19:01Latest3rd sourceAl Jazeera English
Full story
A head-on collision
At least 24 people were killed and 11 injured on Friday when a container truck and a passenger bus collided head-on in India’s north-eastern state of Assam, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported, citing police. An earlier police count reported by the South China Morning Post put the toll at 23, including three children.
The crash happened on a highway in Golaghat district bordering Kaziranga National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site known for its one-horned rhinos, about 225km east of the state capital, Dispur. The road is a designated animal corridor where strict speed limits apply, the Post said.
The bus was carrying about 30 people from Bokakhat, the gateway to the park, towards Nagaon, an agricultural and commercial centre about 120km to the west, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported.
Who died
Several children and the bus driver were among the dead, officials told Al Jazeera. Atul Bora, Assam’s rural development minister, said several of the victims were college students, though they have not been publicly identified, the BBC reported. The injured were taken to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.
Swapnaneel Deka, the police superintendent of Golaghat district, told Reuters the death toll was likely to rise, according to Al Jazeera.
“The scale of this loss has shaken all of us, and my heart goes out to every family that has lost a loved one.”
Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam chief minister, Al Jazeera English
Speed and road safety
Witnesses reported that one of the vehicles may have been speeding, Bora said, but he added that the exact reason would be known only after an investigation. Chief Minister Sarma said officials were at the site overseeing relief so that the injured received the best possible care without delay.
Lurinjyoti Gogoi, the leader of a regional opposition party, said road safety had long been a major concern in the state. In 2023, 172,000 people died on India’s roads, or 474 a day, roughly one every three minutes, the BBC noted. Al Jazeera said poorly maintained roads and vehicles are part of the reason India has one of the highest road death rates in the world.