A passenger minibus collided head-on with a container truck on National Highway 715 near Kaziranga National Park in Assam’s Golaghat district on Friday, and officials gave death counts that rose through the day from 23 to as high as 26^1,2,6.

Golaghat district commissioner Biswajit Phukan told The Indian Express that at least 23 people were confirmed dead as of 5:30 p.m. Friday². The same paper later cited officials putting the toll at 25 as of 9 p.m.². The Hindu, citing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later Friday, reported 24 dead, 39 people including the driver on board around 1 p.m., and 15 injured, some in critical condition¹. The Tribune carried a PTI update after 1 a.m. Saturday in which a Golaghat executive magistrate said doctors had confirmed 26 deaths⁶.

The crash was at Rangajan near Hathikuli Tea Estate in the Kohora range^3,4. Outlets differed on the minibus route: The New Indian Express said Golaghat to Nagaon³; The Telegraph said Jorhat toward Nagaon⁴; The Times of India said Bokakhat toward Nagaon⁵. The container truck was traveling toward Upper Assam, police said^3,4.

A man identifying himself as the truck driver told The New Indian Express he was going from Tezpur to Dibrugarh³. “The Traveller directly hit our vehicle,” he said³. He and another person in the truck escaped with minor injuries, the paper reported³.

Police and Minister Atul Bora, the local MLA, said the minibus appeared to have been traveling at high speed on a stretch where limits are enforced near the park, and that the driver may have lost control^3,4,5,7. The Hindu said a dashcam clip from the truck heightened suspicion of overspeeding¹. Gulf News, citing officials, said the passenger vehicle had 12 paid fines totaling Rs 38,500 and another Rs 4,000 outstanding⁷. Cause had not been established by a completed inquiry in the reports reviewed.

The Hindu said 39 people were on board¹; The Times of India said about 40⁵; The New Indian Express said reports suggested more than 35, with the exact number unknown³. Several of the dead were described as college students; The Tribune said two of the dead were women⁶; Gulf News said three children were among the dead⁷. Identities were still being ascertained Friday evening^4,6.

Injured people were first taken to Kohora Model Hospital, with critically injured patients referred to hospitals in Bokakhat and Golaghat and to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital^4,6. A magistrate said nine ambulances were in use and that doctors had referred 20 people to Jorhat⁴. Bora reached the site to supervise rescue, outlets reported^1,3,4.

Sarma said treating the injured was the government’s immediate priority and that he would visit Saturday¹. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for next of kin of each person who died and Rs 50,000 for the injured^1,6. Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted condolences, The Hindu reported¹.