Bus accident in northern India kills 26 members of wedding party

Bus accident in northern India kills 26 members of wedding party

2012-02-09 01:24:50 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- More than 25 people were killed on late Tuesday evening when a mini-bus carrying members of a wedding party slammed head-on into a truck in northern India, police said on Wednesday. Several others were seriously injured.

The accident happened when the overloaded mini-bus collided head-on with a speeding truck on a country road with no streetlights in the Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh, about 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the city of Agra. The small bus was carrying approximately 60 people.

A local police official said at least 26 people on board the mini-bus were killed, including the driver, while as many as 30 others were injured. Those seriously injured were rushed to the S.N. Medical College Hospital in Agra while others were taken to nearby hospitals.

The mini-bus was carrying members of a wedding party and was heading towards Negla Bihari in Etah district where the family was to participate in an engagement ceremony. The bride and groom were traveling in a car and were not involved in the deadly accident, police said.

India, the world's second most populous nation, is often the scene of deadly road accidents, many of which are attributed to reckless driving, aging vehicles and overloading. In new figures released in 2010, India overtook China to top the world in road fatalities.

According to India's National Crime Records Bureau, approximately 120,000 people are killed in road accidents in India each year. Deaths as the result of road accidents account for up to 40 percent of the country's deaths due to unnatural causes.

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