Tanker-van collision kills 8 in North India

At least eight people were killed and two others injured in a head-on collision between fast moving passenger van and a tanker on Friday in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

The accident took place near Sikheda village of Hapur district, about 462 km northwest of Lucknow city, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

"Eight persons including two women were killed and two others injured today in a road accident when a passenger van collided with a Tanker near Sikheda village under Simbhavali police station," a police official posted in Hapur said. "The injured were immediately removed to hospital."

According to officials, the victims identified as Hindu devotees were returning after taking a dip in river Ganga.

Reports said the collision was so powerful that the van was crushed due to the impact, resulting in instant killing of most of its passengers.

The victims were said residents of New Delhi.

Earlier, in the morning nine people were killed and 12 others injured in a similar road accident in neighbouring Haryana state.

Deadly road accidents, common in India, are often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.

Last year 146,133 people were killed and 500,279 others injured in 501,423 road accidents across India, a latest report released by India's ministry of road transport said.

Global Road Safety Report - 2015 released by WHO last year however said India accounts for more than 200,000 deaths annually due to road accidents. Endit