PATNA: Twenty-five people including women and children were killed on Thursday when an overloaded truck carrying labourers overturned in dense fog in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, police said.

More than 40 labourers, who were helping to harvest crops, were travelling on the vehicle at the time of the accident, 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the state capital Patna.

“Initial investigations suggest that the accident took place due to the dense fog,” said Daljeet Singh, superintendent of police in Aurangabad district, where the crash took place.

About 110,000 people were killed in Indian road accidents in 2011 — more than 300 every day — according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Bad roads, speeding vehicles and poor driving were among the contributing factors.