At least 25 people were killed in the Kaziranga accident on Friday, 13 November 2026, when a crowded passenger Traveller van collided head on with a container truck on National Highway 715 near Kaziranga National Park in Assam’s Golaghat district. The crash happened at Rangajan, near Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range. Golaghat Additional Deputy Commissioner Jintu Bora put the toll at 25, with 23 victims identified, Times Now Navbharat reported. PTI and The Times of India reported at least 26 deaths.
Around 20 people were injured, many of them seriously. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh for the family of each person who died and Rs 50,000 for each injured person from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, according to The Times of India.
Table of Contents
What happened in the Kaziranga accident?
The passenger vehicle was a Force Traveller heading towards Nagaon from Bokakhat, while the container truck was travelling from Tezpur towards Dibrugarh, the Free Press Journal reported, citing officials. The two vehicles hit each other at high speed around midday. The Traveller was badly crushed. Several passengers were trapped inside and others were thrown out by the force of the impact.
The Times of India described the vehicle as a minibus carrying around 40 passengers. The Free Press Journal said police found it was carrying about 41 people against a permitted capacity of 26, including students from Kaziranga High School. The driver and staff of the Traveller were among those killed.
How many people died and who were the victims?
The toll rose through Friday evening. Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnanil Deka first confirmed 23 deaths, India Today NE reported. Later, ADC Jintu Bora said 19 seriously injured people had been sent to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, and two of them died there, taking the toll to 25. He said 14 women and 11 men were among the dead.
Hospital authorities had identified 23 of the 25 victims by Friday night, while one man and one woman were still unidentified, Pratidin Time reported in its list of the dead. The list shows the victims came from several places:
- Golaghat district: 11 people, five of them from Rangajan, including a student of Government Model College, Kaziranga
- Nagaon district: 9 people, including two men identified as the driver and handyman
- Karbi Anglong district: 1 student of CNB College
- Sonitpur district: 1 person
- Bihar: 1 man from Madhubani district
Among the dead were two sisters from Rangajan and a young boy, the reports said. PTI’s later count, carried by ThePrint, said at least 26 people died, including women and minors.
Where are the injured being treated?
The injured were first taken to Kohora Model Hospital, close to the crash site. The most serious cases were then shifted to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital. The Times of India said 13 people were referred to Jorhat, while the ADC’s account and the Free Press Journal put the number at 19 to 20.
Golaghat Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Phukan said post mortem examinations would be carried out on Saturday. According to ADC Jintu Bora, special teams of doctors from Jorhat Medical College and Guwahati Medical College and Hospital were called in, with post mortems starting at 6 AM on Saturday on three tables at once.
What caused the crash?
The cause is still under investigation. Assam minister Atul Bora, who is also the MLA from Bokakhat, reached the site soon after the crash. “The impact on the mini bus indicates over speeding. However, the circumstances leading to the fatal road accident will come out during investigation,” he told reporters, as quoted by The Times of India.
Preliminary police findings point to overcrowding and speeding, the Free Press Journal reported. It said the van had allegedly broken speed limits that apply on the highway stretch along the national park. Bora called it one of the worst accidents in the region and said an official probe would look into the speeding and safety violations.
The highway runs along the edge of the park. Read more about it in our guide to Kaziranga National Park.
What has the government announced?
“An ex gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X. Modi said he was “deeply anguished by the loss of lives” in Golaghat district.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was on a two day tour of Biswanath district, said the state’s first priority was medical care for the injured. “No words can ease their pain, but I want them to know that they are not alone. All of Assam stands with them in this hour of grief,” he said on X, as reported by India Today NE. The Free Press Journal said he would visit Golaghat and the crash site on Saturday and review road safety on the highway.
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed grief, PTI reported.
Why this matters
The crash hit a small community hard: five of the dead lived in Rangajan, where it took place. It also raises questions about overloaded passenger vans and speeding on national highways. The Centre has been promoting tools such as the road safety navigation app to cut accidents, but the Kaziranga crash shows how much depends on enforcement on the ground. For background on the state, see our overview of Assam’s history, geography and economy.
Featured image photo: Ishanjyotibora, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. It shows a highway through Nagaon in Assam in 2024 and is used only as an illustration. It is not the accident site and was not taken for this report.
FAQ
How much compensation has been announced for the Kaziranga accident victims?
The Prime Minister announced Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF for the next of kin of each person who died and Rs 50,000 for each injured person.
Where did the Kaziranga accident happen?
It happened at Rangajan, near Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range of Golaghat district, on National Highway 715 beside Kaziranga National Park.
Sources
- Times Now Navbharat, 13 November 2026: ADC Jintu Bora’s toll of 25, gender breakdown, injured sent to Jorhat, post mortem arrangements (Hindi).
- The Times of India, 13 November 2026: PM’s ex gratia, location, minibus with around 40 passengers, Kohora hospital, Atul Bora and Himanta Biswa Sarma quotes.
- Free Press Journal, 14 November 2026: vehicle route, overcrowding and speeding findings, officials, CM’s visit and ministers deputed.
- India Today NE, 13 November 2026: SSP’s confirmation of 23 deaths and the Chief Minister’s statement.
- Pratidin Time, 14 November 2026: list of identified victims by district.
- ThePrint (PTI), 13 November 2026: PTI count of at least 26 deaths and condolences from the President, Vice President and Home Minister.