NEW DELHI, 5 June (BelTA - Xinhua) - At least 22 people were charred to death and 19 others sustained burn injuries after a passenger bus caught fire following a collision with a truck in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday, a senior police official said.
"The incident took place around 1 a.m. local time when the state-run bus collided head-on with the truck coming from the opposite direction on an under-contruction stretch of national highway 24 in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district," Bareilly's police chief Joginder Kumar told the media.
The impact of the collision was such that the diesel tank of the bus caught fire immediately and soon the flames engulfed the vehicle.
"Most of the passengers of the bus were fast asleep at the time of the accident, as a result of which only a few people managed to escape. While 22 passengers died on the spot, those injured have been admitted to the district hospital, where some are said to be serious," the official said.
India's road fatality rate is among the highest in the world, with more than 400 people being killed in accidents daily, according to statistics. Most of the road occurred due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles.
