At least 25 wedding party guests killed in Indian truck plunge

Onlookers gather around the bodies of passengers who had been travelling in a truck that plunged off a bridge in Bhavnagar district, about 200km from Ahmedabad in India's western Gujarat state, on March 6, 2018. (AFP)

NEW DELHI: A truck carrying wedding party guests plunged into a dry river bed in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people and injuring dozens, including children, authorities said.
Nearly 38 injured had been admitted at a government hospital in Bhavnagar, Gujarat state, a police official said.
“Around 60 people were going for a marriage function in a truck. The driver lost control of the vehicle which plunged 25 feet down from a small bridge near Ranghola,” said Vishal Dinesh Mehta, a sub-inspector of police.
Ranghola is a village in Bhavnagar district, around 200 km (around 125 miles) from the state capital, Gandhinagar.
“At least 10 among the dead are women,” said Mehta, adding a detailed investigation was under way.
Deadly road accidents are common in India, where driving standards are poor and roads and vehicles badly maintained. In 2016, road accidents claimed 17 lives every hour, government data shows.