GUWAHATI: The death toll in Friday's head-on collision between a passenger minibus and a container truck near Assam's Kaziranga National Park has risen to 26, with 20 people injured, officials said. Kohora Model Hospital senior doctor Dipam Kumar Barman told The Hindu the toll climbed to 26 as ambulances carried victims to different hospitals; the superintendent of Shaheed Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital in Golaghat had earlier put the figure at 25, after Golaghat Additional Commissioner Jintu Bora first confirmed 23 deaths.
Source: The Hindu via The Indus Pulse, Nov 13, 2026 (updated 22:56 IST)
This is an update to the story published earlier on Friday, when police had confirmed 23 deaths at Rangajan on National Highway 715 and warned the toll could rise. The toll has since risen in stages — 23, then 25, now 26 — as critically injured passengers succumbed and more victims were accounted for. Read the earlier story: 23 killed as minibus rams container truck near Kaziranga
The crash happened on Friday afternoon at Rangajan near the Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range of Golaghat district, on National Highway 715, which runs past the Kaziranga National Park. The minibus — a passenger Traveller carrying more than 35 people, many of them college students heading home after classes — was travelling from Bokakhat towards Nagaon when it hit the container truck head-on. Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka told PTI the exact number of passengers on board was not yet known, with estimates of around 45.
Source: PTI via The Daily Jagran, Nov 13, 2026
Dashcam shows the minibus veering into the truck's lane
A dashcam video from the container truck, reported by The Daily Jagran, shows the minibus approaching at high speed, jumping its lane and ramming head-on into the truck. Police have said preliminary investigation points to the minibus running at very high speed in violation of the speed restrictions in force near the national park, with the driver apparently losing control. A district administration inquiry will examine how the crash happened and whether either vehicle broke traffic rules on seating capacity or speed limits near the park, an official told PTI. The exact cause has not yet been established.
Source: PTI via The Daily Jagran / The Hindu via The Indus Pulse, Nov 13, 2026
The Traveller, bearing registration number AS 02 AC 6690 and registered in the name of Anjir Ali of Itachali in Nagaon, had previously received multiple traffic challans for overspeeding, Eastern Lens reported. A Golaghat District Transport Office official told The Hindu the vehicle had repeated overspeeding fines, including a Rs 4,000 penalty in Jorhat on March 3 for driving at 102 kmph, and pending fines in Kaziranga.
Source: Eastern Lens / The Hindu via The Indus Pulse, Nov 13, 2026
14 of the dead identified; post-mortems on Saturday
Officials have identified 14 of the deceased so far. They include the minibus driver Abdul Majid and handyman Subhash, Jyoti Majhi, Darpana Majhi, Rashid Ali, Hafiza Khatun, Farhana Yasmin, K R Lobho, Amjad Ali, Bulbul Ali, Baby Karmakar, Damini Ghatowar and Dipanjali Rongphar. Officials said two women and a 12-year-old child are among the dead. Post-mortem examinations will be conducted during the day on Saturday at Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital in Golaghat.
Source: The Daily Jagran (The Hindu inputs), Nov 13, 2026
Ambulances ferried the injured to several hospitals. Twenty patients were referred to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital for advanced care, while others were treated at Kohora Model Hospital and Bokakhat Civil Hospital, The Hindu reported. The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and Assam Sena have announced they will arrange blood for the injured, Eastern Lens reported.
Source: The Hindu via The Indus Pulse / Eastern Lens, Nov 13, 2026
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government's foremost priority is ensuring the injured receive the best possible medical care without delay; he directed Minister Ranoj Pegu to visit the site and said he would travel to Kaziranga on Saturday. Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Atul Bora visited the crash site and hospitals. Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi posted condolences on X and wished the injured a speedy recovery, NDTV reported. What happens next: identification of the remaining victims continues, the district inquiry will examine the vehicle's speed and seating compliance, and post-mortems are scheduled for Saturday.
Source: The Hindu via The Indus Pulse (NDTV inputs), Nov 13, 2026