At least 20 people were killed and around two dozen others injured early Monday when a truck loaded with concrete stone chips crashed into a passenger bus in southern India, officials said.
The state-run transport bus, carrying about 70 passengers to Hyderabad in Telangana state, was struck head-on by the truck near the town of Chevalla, district official K. Chandrakala told The Associated Press, reports UNB.
The impact left the front portion of the bus severely damaged, trapping several passengers inside.
Rajendra Prasad, superintendent of Chevalla Hospital, said 20 bodies had been sent to the morgue and would be handed over to families after identification.
The incident occurred a day after another fatal road crash in the western state of Rajasthan, where a minibus collided with a parked truck late Sunday, killing at least 15 people and injuring two others.
Authorities said the passengers were returning to Jodhpur from the pilgrimage town of Kolayat after offering prayers to a Hindu deity.
Among the victims were 10 women, four children, and the driver, according to senior official Shweta Chauhan. The injured were admitted to a local hospital.
Chauhan said the victims were trapped in the twisted wreckage of the minibus following the impact.
Senior police officer Kundan Kanwaria said the driver was attempting to overtake another vehicle when he rammed into the stationary truck. “It appears the driver couldn’t brake before hitting the truck,” Kanwaria said.
In India, trucks and trailers are often parked carelessly along highways without warning signs or reflectors, posing serious hazards for night-time drivers and causing numerous deadly accidents in recent years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, expressed condolences to the victims’ families.
The Rajasthan crash occurred less than three weeks after a suspected short circuit triggered a fire on a passenger bus in the same state, killing at least 20 people.
