11 killed, 12 injured in trailer-bus collision in India's Rajasthan

NEW DELHI, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people were killed and 12 others injured early Wednesday after a trailer rammed into a bus in north India's state of Rajasthan, police said.

The accident took place on the Jaipur-Agra highway near Hantra in Bharatpur district, about 160 km east of Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan.

"Today at around 4:30 a.m. (local time), a bus had halted at Antra flyover following a breakdown. A trailer rammed into it from behind, killing 11 people and injuring 12 others," a senior police official said. "The deceased were identified as five men and six women."

According to police, the injured were admitted to a nearby hospital.

The ill-fated bus carrying pilgrims was traveling from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh when the accident occurred.

Police have registered a case and ordered an investigation into the accident.

Deadly road accidents in India are often caused by overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving. Around 150,000 people are killed every year in about half a million road accidents across India, officials said.

Indian government has set a target to reduce road accident deaths by 50 percent by 2024.