Baihata Chariali: Around 40 hurt as dumper hits Siliguri-Tezpur night bus

Around 40 passengers, including women and children, were injured when a dumper truck crashed into a night bus at Baihata Chariali in Assam's Kamrup district early on Saturday, The Sentinel reported.

The accident happened at about 2 am. The bus was on its way from Siliguri in West Bengal to Tezpur in Assam.

What is known so far

According to the report, the dumper was allegedly being driven at high speed when it struck the bus. Most of the people on board were hurt, and the collision caused panic among passengers.

The injured were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals. Their condition had not been officially confirmed by Saturday afternoon. There was no report of any deaths.

Police have not yet shared details on whether the dumper driver has been detained or a case registered. The names of the hospitals and the number of people still admitted were also not available.

A busy and accident-prone junction

Baihata Chariali, about 30 km from Guwahati, is the junction where the highway towards Tezpur and the north bank of the Brahmaputra branches off from the main east-west corridor. Long-distance buses, trucks and sand and stone dumpers use it through the night.

The stretch has seen several serious accidents. In July this year, a speeding truck killed a biker at the junction. The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) invited bids in August for four-laning the Baihata Chariali-Tezpur highway, a project meant to ease traffic on the corridor.

Kamrup's district administration has in the past ordered checks on speeding heavy vehicles on highways around Guwahati, after repeated crashes involving trucks and dumpers at night.

What to watch

NEInsider will update this story when Kamrup police or the district administration release the number of injured, their condition and any action against the dumper driver.