At least 18 farm workers sleeping by the side of a road were killed after a speeding truck hit a bus on a highway in India, police said on Wednesday.
Nineteen more workers were injured in the accident that occurred in northern Uttar Pradesh state's Barabanki district late Tuesday night.
Local police officer Pankaj Kumar Singh said the bus in which the workers were traveling had broken down after which the driver parked the vehicle by the side of the highway.
The workers then slept on the road near the bus.
"A few hours later a speeding truck hit the bus from behind, causing it to move ahead and crush the laborers. Most of the victims died on the spot, a few others succumbed to injuries at the hospital," Singh said. The workers were returning to their homes in the neighboring Bihar state from the agricultural states of Haryana and Punjab, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences for the deaths and said he talked to state authorities to ensure proper treatment of the injured. Tens of thousands of people are killed in road crashes in India every year. The accidents are mostly blamed on poorly maintained roads and vehicles or negligent driving.
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