12 killed, 23 injured in road accident in central India

At least 12 persons have been killed and 23 others injured in a head-on collision between a speeding bus and an overloaded auto-rickshaw in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh late Tuesday evening, a senior police official said.

"The mishap took place when the auto-rickshaw (a commercial three-wheeler) carrying 16 commuters, more than its seating capacity, was hit from the front by a bus which was travelling at a high speed near Kishangarh Ghats in the state's Rajgarh district," he said, on condition of anonymity.

While eight people, including five children, on the auto-rickshaw and three on the bus died on the spot, the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals by local residents, where the condition of a few are said to be serious, the official said, adding the bus was carrying 30 passengers.

Local TV channels reported that the impact of the collision was such that the bus got off the road and overturned before coming to a halt.

Preliminary probe has indicated that the bus driver lost control of the speeding vehicle and hit the auto-rickshaw, causing the accident. "While the bus driver survived and fled the spot, the auto-rickshaw driver died on the spot," the official said.

State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of 200,000 Indian rupees (4,000 U.S. dollars) each for families of those killed.

"A probe has been ordered into the incident and efforts are on to nab the bus driver," the police official added.

India records one of world's highest road accidents, with over 130,000 people dying every year, as per official statistics. Most of the road accidents are due to poor road condition, overspeeding and drunk driving. Endit