April 24, 2008 Twin tragedies in India Play video

(NECN/ABC) - In India, two wedding days have become days of mourning. At least 43 people were killed in separate accidents as they traveled to and from wedding ceremonies.

The injured never had a chance. 24 members of a wedding party were killed when the van they were traveling in hit a truck in the middle of the night. The closest hospital was 60 miles away. There was only one survivor -- an eight-year-old girl.

All the victims, the local magistrate says, belonged to the same family.

There are 100,000 road traffic deaths every year in India, more than in any other country.

Meanwhile, a boat carrying another wedding party capsized and sank.

Police searched for survivors, but found only nine of 27 passengers. That's more people than the boat was intended to carry and the excess weight helped cause it to sink.

ABC's Nick Schifrin reports from New Delhi.