21 killed in road accident in Gujarat's Patan district

At least 21 people, including eight children and eight women, were killed in a road accident in Patan district of Gujarat when a minibus lost control and collided with a stationary state road transport bus on Wednesday night.

All the victims were from Gilasan village of Mehsana district and had gone to Sami for a religious function.

The driver of the minibus lost control after one of its tyres burst and collided with the bus.

"We were driving in our car, when the front tyre of the pickup truck in burst in front of us, and it collided with a parked bus. Around 15-20 people have been killed," said Kamlesh Vyas, an eyewitness.

Administrative officials and police rushed to the site on receiving the news of the accident.

"I reached the accident site the moment I got the news. We have so far extricated 15 bodies from the wreckage ," said J J Patel, an administrative official for the district's Harij Taluka.

The bodies were taken to a local hospital, where relatives mourned the sudden and untimely demise of their loved ones.

Road accidents are common in India, where roads are often of poor quality. Transport department officials claim that reckless driving and untrained drivers are responsible for most of the road accidents that take place in India