GUWAHATI: At least 26 people, including women, children and a few college students died and 20 others were injured after a minibus they were travelling in collided head-on with a container truck near Rangajan, close to Kaziranga National Park in Assam, on Friday.
The accident occurred near Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range on National Highway 715, a senior police officer said. The exact number of people travelling in the bus is not immediately known, but it will be around 45, a senior official said.
In a social media post, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he is deeply distressed by the tragic accident in Kaziranga earlier during the day.
"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 added.
Sarma said the foremost priority now is ensuring the injured receive the best possible medical care without delay.
"I pray for the swift recovery of the injured and for strength for the bereaved families," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep anguish over the accident and announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each for the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for those injured.
"Deeply anguished by the loss of lives in the mishap in Golaghat district of Assam. I extend my condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured," Modi said in a post on X.
The prime minister said an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to every injured person.
"The total number of dead in the accident has increased to 26. Ambulances have taken the people to different hospitals, and we are collecting the data from them," said Dipam Kumar Barman, a senior doctor at Kohora Model Hospital.
At an official function in Biswanath earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that at least 24 people lost their lives and college students were among the dead.
Several critically injured people are being treated at Bokakhat Civil Hospital and Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, he added.
"Minister Ranoj Pegu will soon visit Kaziranga, and I will also go tomorrow," Sarma said.
Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Atul Bora was supervising the relief and rescue operations. The passengers were mostly young people, including college students. There were also some elderly people. The Traveller was headed to Nagaon from Golaghat, while the container truck was travelling towards Upper Assam.
"Deeply saddened by this heartbreaking incident... I am now visiting the hospitals to assess the condition of the injured and review the medical care being provided to them. Necessary instructions have been issued to ensure that all injured persons receive the best possible treatment," he said.
He said that the postmortem will take place at Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital in Golaghat on Saturday during daytime as per the CM's instructions.
The injured people were initially taken to the Kohora Model Hospital, and most of the critically injured were referred to civil hospitals in Bokakhat and Golaghat, and the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, another senior official said.
"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 added.
A man, who identified himself as the truck driver, said, “I was en route to Dibrugarh from Tezpur. The Traveller directly hit our vehicle.” He and another person who was in the truck escaped with minor injuries.
Several passengers were trapped inside the Traveller after the accident, prompting a rescue operation by locals and police personnel.
The Golaghat district administration will institute a thorough enquiry to establish the cause of the accident and determine whether either of the vehicles violated traffic norms, including rules on passenger capacity and speed limits near Kaziranga National Park, an official said.
Additional District Commissioner Jintu Borah said the postmortem examinations of the deceased would be conducted at Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital in Golaghat during the night, with special lighting arrangements being made.
The cause of the mishap was not immediately known. Overspeeding was suspected, as speed is restricted along the Kaziranga stretch.
Police said the bus was allegedly travelling at a very high speed, in violation of restrictions imposed near the park, and suspected that its driver lost control before the collision.
A purported video, which has gone viral, from the dashcam of the truck showed that the minibus was approaching the goods carrier at a high speed, jumped its lane and hit the container truck on the front.
It is revealed that the involved minibus was a habitual offender and had repeatedly attracted traffic fines for overspeeding in the past, an official of the Golaghat District Transport Office said.
"The vehicle was registered in the name of Anjir Ali of Nagaon. It was fined Rs 4,000 in Jorhat on March 3 for driving at a speed of 102 kmph. The vehicle had also received multiple overspeeding fines in Kaziranga, and several fines are pending," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)