At least 24 people, including schoolchildren and vehicle crew members, were killed and 11 others critically injured when a passenger Force Traveller collided head-on with a container truck near Kaziranga National Park in Assam’s Golaghat district on Friday.
The accident occurred around noon at Rongajan, near Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range, along National Highway 715. The Force Traveller, bearing registration number AS 02AC 6690, was travelling from Bokakhat towards Nagaon when it collided with a container truck (KA 01AT 0977) travelling from Tezpur to Dibrugarh.
Preliminary police investigations and eyewitness accounts suggested that the collision took place at high speed. The Traveller was severely mangled, trapping several passengers inside, while others were thrown out by the impact.
Police said the passenger vehicle was carrying around 41 people, including students from Kaziranga High School, despite having an official capacity of 26. Investigators also suspected that it had violated speed restrictions imposed along the national park corridor. The Traveller’s driver, Abdul Mujib, and other crew members were among those killed.
The deceased identified so far included two sisters, Jyoti Majhi, 19, and Darpana Majhi, 15, and 12-year-old Anurag Gowala.
Police personnel and local residents launched rescue operations soon after the collision. Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka monitored the efforts at the site and confirmed the fatalities.
Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Phukan said the injured were initially taken to Kohora Model Hospital. The 11 seriously injured passengers, including several children, were later referred to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital for advanced treatment. Post-mortem examinations of the deceased were scheduled for Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives and announced ex-gratia assistance of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for each injured person from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also expressed sorrow and said providing immediate and quality medical care to the injured was the state government’s foremost priority. He deputed senior ministers to coordinate relief efforts with the district administration.
Panchayat and Rural Development Minister and Bokakhat MLA Atul Bora visited the accident site and hospitals to oversee rescue arrangements and meet the injured. He described the incident as one of the worst accidents in the region and said an official probe would examine suspected overspeeding and safety violations.
Education Minister Ranoj Pegu and Keshab Mahanta were also directed to assist with relief, medical coordination and rehabilitation efforts.
Sarma, who was on a two-day official tour of Biswanath district, said he would visit Golaghat and the accident site on Saturday to review the situation, meet residents and assess road safety measures along the highway.
