At least seven persons died and five others were injured on Sunday after a bus carrying them collided head-on with a goods truck on National Highway-27 in Assam’s Kamrup Metro district, police said.
According to the police, the incident happened in the Sonapur-Khetri area on the outskirts of Guwahati city on Sunday evening. Police said that three persons died on the spot while around nine injured people were shifted to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), four of them later succumbed during treatment.
The deceased have been identified as Prashanta Talukdar (34), Anima Deka Bordoli (32) and Gopal Das (46) of Morigaon, and Insan Ali Sheikh (54), Tafajul Ali (53), Jutika Ronghang (46) and Idris Ali (42) of Kamrup district, police said.
“The accident took place at Nalagedera-Tetelia under Khetri police station in Kamrup Metropolitan district and as per the preliminary investigation, the passenger-carrying bus was heading towards Guwahati from Nagaon when it hit a goods truck after losing control,” police said.
According to the investigating officer Dhiren Saika Sonowal, the bus carried 14 passengers including a driver and a helper, both of whom died on the spot. However, the police found 12 persons during the rescue operations. “We found 12 persons, seven of whom died and five are now undergoing treatment. We believe some people who were sitting at the back of the vehicle managed to leave the spot on their own,” the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}According to the investigating officer Dhiren Saika Sonowal, the bus carried 14 passengers including a driver and a helper, both of whom died on the spot. However, the police found 12 persons during the rescue operations. “We found 12 persons, seven of whom died and five are now undergoing treatment. We believe some people who were sitting at the back of the vehicle managed to leave the spot on their own,” the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}As per the locals, the bus hit a large pothole on the highway before it crashed into the truck coming from the opposite side.
“It was so massive that the front part of the vehicle was completely mangled, and the rescue team had to cut open portions of the damaged vehicle to pull out the passengers,” a local resident said.
The Additional Deputy Commissioner (Traffic), Guwahati, Safiqul Hussain said the bus lost control and crossed the divider before hitting the truck. The truck driver also managed to flee the accident site, police are looking for him. Police are examining the reason behind this, including the claim that it happened because of a pothole.
Police said no occupant of the goods truck was injured in the collision.
Officers said that the bodies have been sent for postmortem and the family members of the identified persons have been contacted.
The incident triggered anger among locals and a group of protesters blocked NH-27 on Monday morning, alleging that accidents caused by potholes on the highway have become a regular occurrence and the local administration has been ignoring the matter.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday visited the spot and said the state government would provide compensation of ₹5 lakh to the family of each deceased person.
He wrote on X, “The tragic accident at Khetri has left us anguished. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.”
He said the issue concerning the condition of the road was being examined and the Chief Secretary of Assam will consult the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on the matter.
“We have conveyed our concerns to NHAI and sought corrective action. If anyone is responsible, appropriate actions will be taken,” he said.
Kamrup Metropolitan deputy commissioner Swapneel Paul on Monday held a meeting at the Guwahati police commissioner’s office in Khanapara with representatives of the NHAI, police, district administration, elected representatives and local residents.
Following the meeting, NHAI agreed to repair all potholes along the Khanapara-Sonapur stretch within seven days. Paul said the administration had heard concerns from all sides before fixing the deadline.
“We have given NHAI a seven-day timeline to repair all potholes along the stretch from Khanapara through Sonapur to NH-37 in Kamrup (Metro) and they have agreed to comply,” Paul said.
NHAI official Abhishek Kumar said repair work will be completed within the stipulated period and that an investigation and legal action would be initiated against contractors connected with the stretch.
“We have also terminated our site engineer and have requested the administration to take legal action against the contractors and the respective agencies,” Kumar said.
A committee has been constituted to monitor the repair work and submit its report to the Deputy Commissioner by September 8.
Paul said that a special meeting of the District Road Safety Committee has also been scheduled at the Dimoria Co-District Commissioner’s office on September 3 to exclusively discuss safety concerns along the Sonapur highway stretch.