7 killed, 15 injured in bus-truck collision in India's Madhya Pradesh

NEW DELHI, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and 15 others injured Friday after a bus and a container truck collided with each other in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, police said.

The accident took place at Birkhadi village of Bhind district, about 482 km north of Bhopal, capital city of Madhya Pradesh.

"Today a collision between a passenger bus and a container truck left seven people dead, besides 15 others injured," a police official posted in Bhind told Xinhua. "The victims were passengers travelling in the bus."

According to the police, the injured were immediately sent to the nearest hospitals by rescue teams.

The police have ordered an investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Police sources said the driver of the container truck has been detained.

Deadly road accidents are common in India due to overloading, bad road conditions and reckless driving.

Around 150,000 people are killed every year in around half a million road accidents across India, officials said.

India's federal government has set a target to reduce road accident deaths by 50 percent by 2024.