New Delhi -
A schoolbus collided with a truck laden with bricks in rural northwestern India on Monday morning, killing at least eleven children, police said.
Seven died at the scene of the accident in Jaheer village in the state of Punjab, with a further four succumbing to their injuries in hospital, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, citing a local official.
Nearly 30 children were travelling in the bus, local senior police officer Rajinder Singh told the agency.
About 110 000 people were killed in Indian road accidents in 2011 - more than 300 every day - according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Bad roads, speeding vehicles and poor driving were among the contributing factors.
In neighbouring Nepal, also known for its treacherous roads, at least 15 people were killed and 25 injured when a bus carrying passengers returning from a wedding veered off a narrow mountain road.
The vehicle tumbled 250 metres down a steep hill on Sunday evening after the driver lost control, Sthaneswar Regmi, district superintendent of police in central Palpa district, told AFP.
He said that both the bride and the groom were injured but their lives were not threatened. The driver, who died in the crash, was thought to have been drinking before setting out. - Sapa-AFP