Truck rams tractors ferrying wedding guests in southern India; kills 18 including groom

Truck hits convoy of Indian wedding guests; 18 die

HYDERABAD, India — A speeding truck rammed into two tractors pulling trolleys loaded with guests returning from a wedding in southern India on Tuesday, killing 18 people, including the groom, police said.

The bride and 19 other people were injured near Warangal, 110 miles (175 kilometers) northeast of Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh state, said Shahnawaz Qasim, a district police superintendent.

Doctors in nearby hospitals described the condition of seven of the injured as critical.

Road accidents claim thousands of lives every year in India, and most are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained vehicles and bad roads. Many passengers travel on makeshift, overcrowded means of transport such as carts attached to tractors.