Bus and container truck collide near Kaziranga, Assam, killing at least 23

The collision

A bus collided head-on with a container truck on a highway near Kaziranga National Park in the Indian state of Assam on Friday, 13 November. Reports disagree on how many people were aboard, with figures of about 30 and about 40 passengers. The bus was travelling from Bokakhat towards Nagaon, and the impact badly damaged it, trapping several passengers inside. Children and the bus driver were among the dead, AP reported.

Most reports gave a death toll of 23, citing police, while AP put it at at least 24. Police said the number could rise as bodies were pulled from the bus. The count of injured was seven in most accounts and 11 in the AP report. The truck driver was also hurt, according to NOS, though it was unclear whether his injuries required hospital treatment.

Rescue and hospital care

Police officers and local residents rushed to the scene and began freeing passengers trapped in the wreckage. The injured were first taken to Kohora Model Hospital, where several were described as being in critical condition. La Vanguardia reported that the seven injured, among them children, were moved to a university hospital in Jorhat, a detail the other accounts do not mention. Rescue work was still under way when the first reports were filed, and the identities of the dead were being checked.

Official reaction and cause

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X that he was deeply distressed by the accident and that the priority was giving the injured the best possible medical care without delay. State minister Atul Bora described the crash as one of the worst in Assam's history and said witnesses reported that the bus was speeding before the collision. Golaghat police chief Swapnaneel Deka said the bus was travelling at high speed despite restrictions near the national park, and that the minibus driver appeared to have lost control before hitting the truck. An official quoted by NOS cited excessive speed without saying which vehicle was driving too fast, and police have not yet announced the cause. Biswajit Phukan, the Golaghat district commissioner, told PTI that some victims came from the Nagaon area and five from the Samaguri area.

Road safety in India

Crashes of this kind are common in India, where reports link fatalities to poor roads, poorly maintained vehicles and drivers who are exhausted or reckless. AP cited reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles as key factors, while 7sur7 pointed to inadequate infrastructure and tired drivers. La Vanguardia cited official data for 2023, with more than 480,000 road accidents, about 173,000 deaths and almost 463,000 injured. 7sur7 cited the Ministry of Road Transport for more than 183,000 road deaths in 2025, or over 500 a day.

2023 (about)173,000

2025 (more than)183,000

2023 (about)

173000 deaths

2025 (more than)

183000 deaths

Data from the article text

The road section near Kaziranga carries strict speed limits because it serves as a corridor for wildlife, 7sur7 reported. The Dutch motoring group ANWB, in travel advice on Indian traffic, said bus and truck drivers often run red lights and fail to give way.