At least 23 people were killed and seven others critically injured on Friday after a speeding minibus collided head-on with a container truck near Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Many of the passengers were students.
The crash happened at Rongajan, near the Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range of Golaghat district, on National Highway 715. The minibus was travelling from Bokakhat towards Nagaon when it hit the truck coming from the opposite direction.
Police said the minibus was carrying more than 35 passengers. Several of those killed were college students returning from their classes, officials told news agency PTI.
01. Speeding suspected as cause
Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka said early findings point to rash driving. “The bus was running at very high speed, violating restrictions imposed near the park. We think that the accident took place when the driver of the minibus lost control, and the vehicle collided with the container truck,” he said.
The stretch of highway runs along the Kaziranga wildlife corridor, where strict speed limits apply to protect both road users and animals crossing the road.
02. Rescue work under way, toll may rise
The injured were first taken to Kohora Model Hospital, and the critically injured were referred to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital. Rescue teams were still pulling bodies from the badly damaged minibus hours after the crash, and police warned the death toll could rise further.
The toll climbed through the afternoon as more victims were found, from seven dead in the first reports to 12, then 16, and finally 23.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed grief over the accident and assured all possible support for the injured and the families of those killed. State minister Atul Bora, who represents the local constituency, rushed to the spot to supervise the relief and rescue work.
Photo: Kaziranga National Park, Assam. Image: Peter Andersen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
