'Overcrowded' small bus and truck collide in India... 26 dead, 20 injured

A small bus carrying passengers and a large truck collided on a highway in northeastern India, killing 26 people and injuring about 20 others.

According to Indian media outlets India Today, AP, and Reuters on the 14th (local time), a small bus and a container truck collided head-on on the highway near Kaziranga National Park in the Golaghat region of northeastern Assam the previous day.

In this accident, 26 people died and about 20 were injured and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Children and the bus driver were among the dead, local officials said.

According to the police, many of the bus passengers were college students returning home from class.

Golaghat police chief Swapnanil Dekar said, "The death toll has increased very quickly. We are verifying the identities of the dead."

The small bus was overcrowded at the time of the accident, but it is not yet known exactly how many people were on it.

“Some passengers on the bus were standing in the aisle,” one survivor told Indian daily Hindustan Times.

India Today reported that initial investigations showed that the minibus may have been traveling at excessive speed, violating the speed limit imposed on the road near Kaziranga National Park.

Local police also believe that the small bus was speeding, left its lane, and collided with an oncoming truck.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the victims of this accident and announced that 200,000 rupees (about 2.8 million won) would be paid to each of the deceased's families as compensation.

In India, close to 500,000 traffic accidents occur every year, killing about 150,000 people. The causes of most accidents are known to be careless driving, poor roads, and aging vehicles.