13-Year-Old Girl Decapitated In Road Accident, Investigation Underway

In a horrific incident, an 13-year-old girl in India was decapitated during a road accident.

The minor girl, who had stuck her head out of the window of the moving bus, was hit by a truck driving in the opposite direction, media outlet NDTV reported. The police said the girl was traveling with her mother and sister in a passenger bus when the accident occurred.

The incident took place on a highway in the state of Madhya Pradesh, the police said. The girl reportedly got unwell during the journey and had stuck her head out of the window to vomit. Senior police officer Seema Alawa told NDTV the child's head was severed from her body.

The police said they have launched an investigation into the incident. The truck, which decapitated the girl, has been seized. Authorities are searching for the truck's driver, who fled the scene following the incident. The police have also registered a case of culpable homicide against the truck driver. The girl's identity has not been revealed.

For decades, road accidents have been a serious problem in India. A February report by the World Bank said India accounts for 11% of the global deaths in road accidents, with only 1% of the world's vehicles.

The report added nearly 450,000 road crashes take place annually in the country, resulting in the death of nearly 150,000 people.

"India tops the world in road crash deaths and injuries. It has 1% of the world's vehicles but accounts for 11% of all road crash deaths, witnessing 53 road crashes every hour; killing 1 person every 4 minutes," the report, titled "Traffic Crash Injuries And Disabilities: The Burden on India Society,” stated.

After the release of the report, India's Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said the road accident scenario in India is more “dangerous than the COVID-19 pandemic.”