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At least 24 killed after bus collides with truck in north-east India

Abhishek Deyin Guwahati
AFP via Getty Images People gather at the accident site after a collision between a container truck and a passenger bus on a highway bordering Kaziranga National Park in the Golaghat district of Assam on November 13, 2026 AFP via Getty Images
The crash took place on a highway bordering Kaziranga National Park in the Golaghat district of Assam

At least 24 people have died and 11 others injured after a bus collided with a truck in Assam, north-east India.

The accident happened near Kaziranga National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site, and the injured have been admitted to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.

Several of the deceased are college students, according to Assam's rural development minister Atul Bora, but they have not yet been publicly identified.

Bora added that witnesses reported one of the vehicles may have been speeding when the crash took place, but "the exact reason will be known after [an investigation]".

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote in a post on X that "the scale of this loss has shaken all of us".

He adds: "Our foremost priority now is to make sure the injured receive the best possible medical care without delay."

AFP via Getty Images Relatives of a victim break down as they arrive at the accident site after a collision between a container truck and a passenger bus on a highway bordering Kaziranga National Park in the Golaghat district of Assam on November 13, 2026.AFP via Getty Images
Family members of one of the victims pictured at the accident site

The bus was carrying passengers from Bokakhat and was headed towards Nagaon.

Bokakhat is best known as the gateway to Kaziranga National Park, famous for its one-horned rhinoceroses.

Nagaon is an important agricultural and commercial centre in central Assam, about 120km (74.5 miles) west of Bokakhat by road.

Lurinjyoti Gogoi, chief of a regional opposition party, said road safety has long been a major concern in the state.

"The government must take it up seriously," he said.

Road accidents are responsible for thousands of deaths in India every year.

In 2023, 172,000 people lost their lives on Indian roads, or 474 a day – roughly one every three minutes.

The count increased to 183,382 deaths in 2025.

Experts say the crisis is rooted not just in infrastructure but in human behaviour, enforcement gaps and systemic neglect.