Developing story. Casualty figures are as of about 5:40 p.m. ET on Friday and may change as officials confirm identifications.
At least 24 people were killed and 11 others injured on Friday when a passenger bus collided with a container truck on a highway near Kaziranga National Park in Assam, in northeastern India, the Associated Press reported, citing authorities.
Later reports put the toll higher. The Business Standard, citing officials, reported 26 people killed and 20 injured. Daily Jagran quoted Dr. Dipam Kumar Barman, a senior doctor at Kohora Model Hospital, saying the number of dead had risen to 26 as critically injured passengers died in hospital. The Associated Press and Reuters have not yet confirmed the higher figure, and the counts are not reconciled.
The crash happened in Golaghat district, near the UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its one-horned rhinos, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) east of Dispur, the state capital, the Associated Press reported. Indian media and the news agency ANI described the collision as head-on. Children and the bus driver were among the dead, officials told AP.
Swapnaneel Deka, the superintendent of police for Golaghat district, told Reuters the bus was traveling to a neighboring district with about 30 people on board. He warned earlier, when police had confirmed 23 deaths, that the toll was likely to increase.
State minister Atul Bora described the crash as one of the worst in Assam’s history and said police are investigating the cause of the collision, AP reported. Bora said witnesses reported that the bus was speeding before the crash, according to AP, and the Indian news agency IANS reported that Deka said early findings pointed to speeding and a breach of traffic restrictions in the Kaziranga area, where speed limits are in force on the highway near the park. Police have not announced a cause, and no official finding has been made public.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X that he was “deeply distressed by the tragic accident,” and Reuters reported that he sent a senior minister to the site to oversee relief arrangements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a payment of 200,000 rupees, known as Rs 2 lakh, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the family of each person killed, and 50,000 rupees to each injured person, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. President Droupadi Murmu also expressed grief over the deaths.
Road crashes are a daily toll in India. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways counted 177,175 road deaths in 2024, about 485 a day. AP has noted that reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles are among the main factors behind the country’s high number of road deaths.
Officials said the injured were taken to hospitals in the area. The names of all the dead had not been released, and officials said the number of passengers on the bus was still being confirmed.
