At least 24 people have been killed and 11 injured after a container truck collided with a bus in India’s north-eastern state of Assam on Friday, police said.
The crash happened on a highway in Golaghat district, near Kaziranga National Park — the UNESCO World Heritage site known for its one-horned rhinos — about 225km east of the state capital, Dispur, Al Jazeera reported.
Several children and the bus driver were among the dead, officials said.
The toll is expected to rise
Swapnaneel Deka, superintendent of police for Golaghat district, told the Reuters news agency that “it is likely the death toll will increase.” He said the bus was travelling to a neighbouring district with about 30 people on board.
With 24 dead and 11 injured out of roughly 30 passengers, the reported casualty figures already exceed the stated number aboard the bus. Neither filing reconciles this, and it is not clear whether the injured include people from the truck or from the roadside. The figures should be read as a developing count.
What the Chief Minister said
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X that he was “deeply distressed by the tragic accident.”
“The scale of this loss has shaken all of us, and my heart goes out to every family that has lost a loved one. No words can ease their pain, but I want them to know that they are not alone. All of Assam stands with them in this hour of grief,” he said.
He added that local authorities were at the site and “personally overseeing the relief arrangements … to make sure the injured receive the best possible medical care without delay.”
Context
India has one of the highest rates of road fatalities in the world, with crashes occurring regularly in part because of poorly maintained roads and vehicles, Al Jazeera notes.
This is the second mass-casualty road crash reported internationally this week. This desk reported on Friday that 14 people were killed and 30 injured in a traffic accident in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Sourcing note
Two verified newsrooms carry this report, but it is one document rather than two accounts. The Daily Mirror’s international desk has republished the Al Jazeera report — its filing opens with an “Al Jazeera” credit line and carries the same text, under “Administrator” rather than a reporter byline. The original reporting is Al Jazeera’s, which in turn attributes the police quotation to Reuters. No Sri Lankan newsroom has sent a reporter or added material of its own.
Not reported
Neither filing gives the cause of the collision, the time of day it occurred, the name of the highway, the bus operator, or the district the bus was travelling to. Neither says whether the truck driver survived or has been detained, and neither reports a compensation announcement or a formal investigation.
