Seven killed in bus mishap in Maharashtra

A bus accident on the Solapur-Dhule National Highway in Maharashtra claimed seven lives and injured several others.

The dead included six students and the driver.

A school bus carrying children rammed into a tourist bus around 8 a.m on Saturday. Transport authorities said the school children were going for a picnic to the Tulzapur Temple in Osmanabad District. when their bus collided with another bus coming from the opposite direction.

"The vehicle was carrying students of the Sangawade Secondary School," said Solapur's road transport officer Anand Patrode.

The injured students have been admitted to a hospital and are under treatment. Six of them are said to be in a critical state.

Road accidents are common in India, where roads are often of poor quality and vehicles are usually overloaded with passengers.

Transport officials attribute a large number of accidents in India to reckless driving and untrained drivers.