Ten persons including five women and two children were killed after the autorickshaw in which they were returning home after the Chhath puja rituals collided with a truck in South Assam's Karimganj district on Thursday morning.
Nine persons died on the spot while the other victim succumbed to the injuries in a hospital later.
Police said the incident took place on NH-8 at the Baithakhal areas near the Karimganj-Tripura border. Police said the victims were on their way towards Karimganj when the cement-laden truck collided head-on.
"Preliminary investigation suggests that the auto-rickshaw was running at a high speed and could not prevent the mishap. But it is too early to reach a conclusion," a police official in Karimganj, situated about 400-kms from Guwahati, said.
The driver of the truck fled after the accident, leaving his vehicle behind.
Police said the victims were workers in a tea estate in the Karimganj district.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma condoled the deaths and said police were looking for the truck driver.
Sarma announced financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of the victims. He also instructed the district administration and police to provide all assistance to the families.
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