Assam: At least 26 killed, 20 hurt as minibus and container truck collide near Kaziranga

At least 26 people were killed and about 20 others seriously injured on Friday when a passenger minibus collided head-on with a container truck on National Highway 715 near Kaziranga National Park in Assam's Golaghat district, officials said.

The crash took place at Rangajan, close to the Hathikuli tea estate in the park's Kohora range. The minibus, a Force Traveller, was heading towards Nagaon, while the truck was travelling towards Upper Assam. Among the dead were women and children, as well as the minibus driver and a crew member.

Students among passengers

The vehicle was carrying more than 35 people, according to officials, many of them students returning home from school and college. Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka put the number of passengers at around 45, though local reports said the exact count was initially unclear. Students of Kaziranga High School were reported to be among those on board.

Early police assessments point to overspeeding. Officials said the minibus appeared to have been travelling fast on the Kaziranga corridor, where speed limits are enforced to protect wildlife, and that the driver may have lost control. A short dashcam clip circulated by broadcasters appears to show the minibus veering into the opposite lane just before impact. Officials have stressed that the cause is still being established.

Rescue and treatment

Police, district officials and local residents carried out rescue work at the site. The injured were first taken to Kohora Model Hospital, and those in a critical condition were referred to Bokakhat, Golaghat and Jorhat Medical College and Hospital. Post-mortem examinations were scheduled for Saturday at the civil hospital in Golaghat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief and announced ex gratia payments from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each person killed and Rs 50,000 for each injured passenger. President Droupadi Murmu and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also conveyed condolences.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was on a tour of Biswanath district, said treating the injured was the government's first priority and that he would visit Golaghat and the crash site on Saturday.

Why it matters

NH-715 runs along the southern edge of Kaziranga and carries heavy passenger and freight traffic between central and Upper Assam. With schoolchildren among the dead, the crash has put fresh focus on speed enforcement and passenger safety in shared vehicles on the corridor.