New Delhi - At least 49 people were killed and more than 80 injured in three bus crashes in India's northern and north-eastern states on Tuesday, police and news reports said. Twenty-three people were killed when a speeding bus rammed into a stationary truck on a highway 320 kilometres east of Guwahati, capital of north-eastern state of Assam.
"The bus carrying more than 60 people hit a goods truck parked by the side of the road with great speed," district police chief Parathasarthi Mahanta said by telephone.
"Fifteen passengers died on the spot due to the tremendous impact. The victims included six children and five women," he added.
The bus was transporting labourers to work at brick kilns in a neighbouring district, police said adding 41 injured were moved to government-run hospitals in the area.
The PTI news agency reported that 20 people lost their lives in an accident in Tehri district in northern mountainous state of Uttarakhand.
The accident occurred when the passenger bus fell into a gorge. Seventeen injured passengers were moved to nearby hospitals.
In another accident in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state, six Muslim pilgrims were killed when the bus they were travelling in collided with a truck.
Police told the PTI two dozen pilgrims were injured in the crash involving the bus which was headed to a famous shrine.
Scores of crashes occur on Indian roads every single day, making it the most dangerous place to drive.
Road accidents claimed more than 130,000 lives in India in 2007, overtaking China where deaths resulting from crashes dropped to 90,000 the same year.
Accidents in India account for 10 per cent of the 1.2 million fatal accidents worldwide each year and the social expenditure due to the tragedies comes to 1.2 billion dollars annually.
Most of the accidents are blamed on reckless and negligent driving and poor maintenance of roads and vehicles.
Worried over the growing number of accidents, the Indian government is planning a number of measures like making airbags and anti-braking systems mandatory in all cars.
Speed breakers could also be installed in trucks and lorries to bring down the fatalities.
