India train-bus collision leaves 30 dead

India: At least thirty people have been killed and dozens of others injured after a train collided with a bus in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

The accident occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning in Kanshiram Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh state, AFP reported.

The bus was packed with people from a wedding party.

Deadly road accidents are common in India, often caused by aging vehicles, overloading and reckless driving.

India has the worst road traffic accident rate worldwide.

Over 160,000 people died in road accidents in India in 2010, compared to 125,000 in the previous year, according to a census jointly conducted by the Indian Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Road and Transport. Fatalities in road accidents climbed by nearly 40 percent between 2003 and 2008 in India, as the more progressive and developed states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were the ones most affected.

Road safety experts have warned that the true number of fatalities due to road incidents in India could be much higher since many fatal accidents are never reported.

Thursday, Press TV