GAUHATI: A massive road accident involving a cargo truck and two minivans in northeast India has left 28 people dead, including 13 children, and another 20 injured, police said.

Barpeta district police said the 10-wheeler truck slammed into the oncoming minivans just after dawn Thursday about 160 kilometres west of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state.

The minivans had been carrying workers, some with their children, to a local brick kiln.

The truck was traveling to the neighbouring state of West Bengal.

Local TV broadcasts showed a huge crowd surrounding 28 bodies covered in white sheets and lined up on green grass.

Police have yet to account for the truck driver, though one of two people who were in the truck is believed to be among the dead.