15 killed in India as bus and lorry crash on highway

Most of the bus passengers were labourers travelling home to celebrate Diwali, police said

Most of the passengers on a bus involved in a fatal crash were labourers travelling home to celebrate Diwali, an extremely busy time for public transport in India. Reuters

Fifteen people were killed when a bus crashed into a lorry on a motorway in Central India, police said on Saturday.

Forty other people were injured in the accident late on Friday in the Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh state.

The bus was carrying 60 passengers when it hit the stationary lorry that had just collided with another vehicle, police officer Navneet Kumar told reporters.

Most of the passengers were labourers travelling home to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

The injured were taken to a hospital for treatment.

India’s President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted their condolences.

India has some of the highest road death rates in the world, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured annually. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and faulty vehicles.

This month, at least nine people — including five children — were killed and 40 injured when a bus hit another vehicle in Kerala.