NEW DELHI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and 30 others injured, some of them critically, Tuesday after a bus carrying them crashed into a culvert in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, police said.
The accident took place in Laxmangarh of Sikar district, about 147 km northwest of Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan.
According to police, the private bus full of passengers was travelling from Salasar to Nawalgarh when the mishap occurred.
"Today a private bus carrying local passengers collided with a culvert here. Twelve people have lost their lives in the mishap," senior police official Satyendra Choudhary said. "Some of the injured have been referred to Jaipur and the remaining are being treated at S K Hospital, Sikar."
Immediately after the accident, locals informed police, who later rushed rescue teams and ambulances to the spot to transport the injured to the hospital.
"Seven people died in Laxmangarh and five people lost their lives while receiving treatment in the hospital here," superintendent of S K Hospital, Sikar, Dr Mahendra Khichad said, "A total of 37 patients were admitted here, out of whom two were declared brought dead, three died during the treatment and seven were referred to Jaipur and the remaining are undergoing treatment here."
Police have registered a case and ordered an investigation to ascertain the cause of the crash.
Deadly road accidents are common in India, largely caused by overloading, the bad condition of roads and reckless driving.
Around 150,000 people are killed every year in about half a million road accidents across the South Asian country, according to officials. ■