Bus Crashes in India After Driver Allegedly Falls Asleep, At Least 21 Dead
The bus driver reportedly fell asleep at the wheel before the bus crashed through a barrier and dropped about 20 feet onto a dry riverbed
At least 21 people in India were killed on Tuesday after a bus driver reportedly fell asleep at the wheel, according to authorities.
Al Arabiya News reported that the driver fell asleep before the bus crashed through a barrier and dropped about 20 feet onto a dry riverbed south of the city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh state.
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The outlet reported via the Times of India that three children and 10 women were among the deceased.
The driver then allegedly fled the scene, according to the outlet.
"At least 21 people have died," a senior police official said, per Al Arabiya News.
Around 35 people were injured in the crash, a subdivisional magistrate Omnarayan Singh told the AFP. The outlet reported that several passengers were crushed to death as the upper portion collided with the rocky bed of the river.
After the crash, locals rushed to the site and started rescue operations, rushing the injured to hospitals in tractors trollies until ambulances could reach the spot later on, the AFP reported.
India accounts for 11% of the global road death toll despite only having 1% of the world's vehicles, according to a World Bank report released in 2021, per Al Arabiya News. The report estimates there are about 150,000 car crash fatalities in India each year.
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