A road mishap claimed 12 lives and left seven injured on Tuesday the 3rd. The accident occurred when a tourist bus collided with a passenger van on a highway in Indian Jammu and Kashmir.

Police say speed may be to be blame for the fatalities.

[Surinder Rao, Police Officer]:
"It seems as if both the vehicles were running at very high speed."

Among the people killed were two children and five women.

The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital.

Of the seven injured, five were released after receiving first aid, while two were referred to Jammu for treatment.

The World Bank predicts that road accidents could become the number 3 public health issue in India by 2020, overtaking such deadly diseases as tuberculosis and AIDS.