Assam accident: Autopsy of 26 bodies today, CM to meet bereaved families

• 26 people die in a head-on collision near Kaziranga; seven injured remain critical.

• Most victims are college students returning from classes.

• Forensic team collects evidence as investigators examine speeding and overloading.

The death toll in Friday's collision between a minibus and a container truck near Kaziranga National Park in Assam's Golaghat district stood at 26, while seven of the 18 injured remained critical, state minister Ranoj Pegu said on Saturday, 14 November.

Postmortems of the deceased will be conducted at Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital in Golaghat before the bodies are transported to their homes, Pegu said. He added that the state government would bear the entire cost of treatment for the injured.

Pegu, who was deputed by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to visit the accident site and the hospitals treating the survivors, said 20 people had been admitted to hospitals in Jorhat and Golaghat, of whom two had succumbed to their injuries. Seven of the 18 injured were in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Jorhat Medical College Hospital, with their condition remaining critical. The remaining 11 were stable, he said.

The government would make arrangements to shift any of the injured to specialised hospitals if they required advanced treatment, Pegu added. Doctors from Gauhati Medical College Hospital and Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh have also reached Jorhat and Golaghat to assist with treatment and postmortem examinations.

Sarma is scheduled to visit the families of the deceased and meet the injured undergoing treatment in hospitals across Golaghat district on Saturday.

The accident occurred at Rangajan on National Highway 715 on Friday, when the minibus, travelling from Golaghat towards Nagaon, collided head-on with a container truck heading from Tezpur to Dibrugarh. Many of those killed were college students returning from their classes.

Investigators are examining whether speeding, overloading or other traffic violations contributed to the collision. Pegu said the authorities were investigating the circumstances of the accident and that strict action would follow if anyone was found to have violated speed restrictions.

Golaghat district authorities have also ordered a thorough inquiry to establish how the collision occurred and whether either vehicle was carrying passengers beyond its permitted seating capacity or violating speed limits.

The 60-km highway stretch has speed restrictions in place, including a maximum limit of 20 kmph along designated animal corridors near the national park. Speed-monitoring cameras have been installed at regular intervals along the route.

A forensic team from Guwahati has reached the accident site to collect evidence as part of the investigation.

Meanwhile, an infant whose guardians have not yet been traced was being looked after by doctors at Golaghat hospital. Three sisters from the same family were among those killed in the collision.

The truck driver, who sustained minor injuries, claimed that the minibus had suddenly swerved into his lane at high speed before crashing into the truck. Both the minibus driver and his assistant were killed in the collision.

With PTI inputs