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The head-on collision between a minibus carrying college students and a container truck on National Highway 715 claimed at least 24 lives and left around 20 others injured, according to multiple officials in Assam. The crash occurred at Rangajan near the Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range close to Kaziranga National Park on Friday afternoon. Police said the minibus was travelling from the direction of Bokakhat towards Nagaon when the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle. Witnesses and a dashcam video from the truck indicated the bus was speeding and crossed into the oncoming lane, a senior police officer told local media.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed distress over the incident in a social media post. “The scale of this loss has shaken all of us,” Sarma said, adding that the priority was ensuring the injured receive the best possible medical care without delay. Rural Development Minister Atul Bora, who is also the local MLA, visited the accident site and confirmed the death toll had reached 24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia payment of 200,000 rupees to the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees to the injured, according to government statements.
Preliminary investigations pointed to excessive speed and violation of traffic restrictions imposed near the national park to protect wildlife, Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnanil Deka said. The minibus had a history of traffic violations including multiple fines for overspeeding, an official from the Golaghat District Transport Office reported. The impact crushed the front of the bus, trapping passengers inside the wreckage and requiring rescue teams to extricate them.
A report from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways shows Assam recorded 7,848 road accidents in 2024 that resulted in 3,351 fatalities. The north-eastern region as a whole accounted for approximately 2 percent of the country’s total road accidents that year, with Assam consistently reporting the highest numbers among the states, the data indicated. Over-speeding remains a leading cause of such incidents across India, contributing to a national road death toll exceeding 177,000 annually according to the same ministry figures.
Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its one-horned rhinoceros population, borders the highway where the crash took place. Strict speed limits are enforced in the area due to animal corridors that allow wildlife to cross the road. Local authorities have previously highlighted the risks of high-speed traffic in this ecologically sensitive zone.
The injured were rushed to Kohora Model Hospital and then referred to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital for advanced treatment, a district executive magistrate said. At least 14 of the deceased have been identified, including several students, two women and a 12-year-old boy, according to hospital officials. Rescue operations involved multiple ambulances ferrying victims from the site throughout the afternoon.
