At least 21 people have been killed after a bus fell off a bridge in central India. The driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, authorities reported Tuesday.
The accident happened about 120 kilometres south of Indore, the largest city in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. According to the Journal of India newspaper, the dead included three children and ten women.
The newspaper said the bus was on its way to Indore when the vehicle hit a bridge railing and plunged into a dry river bed. The driver, who had fallen asleep, fled the scene, according to the newspaper.
A 2021 World Bank report found that India is responsible for 11 percent of road deaths worldwide, even though the country accounts for only 1 percent of the total number of used vehicles. The same report estimated that 150,000 people in India die yearly in car accidents. That’s one person every four minutes.