Representative image. Horshadeep Saikia, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
The crash happened on a highway stretch where speed limits exist because of the national park. An official quoted by PTI said the minibus broke those limits, so the inquiry may test how they are enforced.
The Kaziranga accident on Friday afternoon, 13 November 2026, killed at least 26 people after a Traveller minibus and a container truck collided head-on on National Highway 715 near Kaziranga National Park in Assam’s Golaghat district. Dr Dipam Kumar Barman of Kohora Model Hospital gave the figure of 26 that evening, The New Indian Express reported. Students were among the passengers.
The crash happened at Rangajan, near Hathikuli Tea Estate in the park’s Kohora range, according to a senior police officer quoted by the paper. Golaghat’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), identified in reports as Deka, said the Golaghat crash took place between about 2 pm and 2.30 pm. The Sentinel, a Guwahati daily, put the time at about 3.15 pm.
How the death toll rose through the evening
The Golaghat crash toll climbed as the injured reached hospitals. The Sentinel counted 23 dead by 5 pm. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later told an official function in Biswanath that at least 24 had died and that college students were among them. By night the hospital doctor’s count stood at 26.
The New Indian Express reported 20 people injured. The first stop was Kohora Model Hospital, close to the site. From there, 13 people were sent on to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, according to the Times of India. Others were moved to civil hospitals in Bokakhat and Golaghat. Police said the toll from the Kaziranga accident could still rise.
Where the first accounts agree, and where they differ
All four reports we read agree on the place, the two vehicles and a head-on impact. They do not yet agree on how many people were aboard or which way the minibus was going. The table sets the figures side by side, each with the outlet that reported it.
| Detail | What was reported | Reported by |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 23 by 5 pm; at least 24 (CM); 26 by night | The Sentinel; New Indian Express; hospital doctor via New Indian Express |
| Time of crash | About 2 pm to 2.30 pm; about 3.15 pm | SSP Deka via Hindustan Times; The Sentinel |
| People on the minibus | More than 35; around 40; around 45 | Hindustan Times and The Sentinel; Times of India; a senior official via New Indian Express |
| Minibus route | Bokakhat to Nagaon; Jorhat to Guwahati; Golaghat to Nagaon | Police via Hindustan Times; Times of India; New Indian Express |
| Truck | Heading towards Upper Assam; driver says he came from Tezpur | New Indian Express; The Sentinel |
Such gaps are common in the first hours after an Assam road accident of this size, when counts come from several hospitals at once. The police investigation and the postmortem reports should settle them.
Was speed the cause of the Kaziranga accident?
No official finding on the Golaghat crash has been made. An official quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI), a news agency, said the minibus was running at very high speed and breaking the restrictions in force near the park, and that the driver may have lost control. Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express both carried that account.
Atul Bora, the state’s Panchayat and Rural Development Minister, reached the spot soon after. He told reporters the damage to the minibus pointed to overspeeding, but said the full circumstances would come out in the investigation. The truck driver has given a different account. He told The Sentinel he was coming from Tezpur and that the Traveller hit his truck.
The highway where the Assam road accident happened runs along the southern edge of the park, and speed limits on this stretch exist to protect animals that cross it. Whether the minibus was over that limit is now a question for the police.
Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for each family that lost someone
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply anguished by the deaths, in a post from the Prime Minister’s Office on X. He announced an ex-gratia payment from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), a fund the PM uses for help after disasters and accidents.
- Family of each person who died: Rs 2 lakh
- Each injured person: Rs 50,000
NewsPlainly’s calculation: at the current toll of 26, the payments to bereaved families come to Rs 52 lakh (26 x Rs 2 lakh). The amount for the injured is not totalled here because reports give different counts. The reports we read did not say how families should claim the money.
Chief Minister Sarma said the state’s first task was to get the injured the best treatment without delay. He said minister Ranoj Pegu would visit Kaziranga and that he planned to go himself on Saturday, 14 November. The New Indian Express reported that postmortems would be done on Saturday at Swahid Kushal Konwar Civil Hospital in Golaghat. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi also offered condolences to the families.
What is still not known
For the Kaziranga accident, officials have not yet released a list of the dead or the injured, and the final toll may change. The exact number of passengers and the minibus route remain unconfirmed. The cause will depend on the police inquiry. For more news from across the country, see NewsPlainly’s India section.
Frequently asked questions
Where did the Kaziranga accident happen?
At Rangajan, near Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range of Kaziranga, on National Highway 715 in Golaghat district, Assam.
How many people died in the Golaghat crash?
At least 26, according to a doctor at Kohora Model Hospital quoted by The New Indian Express on the night of 13 November. The count rose through the evening.
What compensation has been announced?
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.
What caused the crash?
Officials suspect the minibus was speeding, but no finding has been made. The truck driver says the minibus hit his truck. Police are investigating.