Buldhana, Oct 2 (IANS): In a ghastly accident, a speeding trucker mowed down 10 labourers, killing five instantly, as they slept beside a road on the Nandura-Malkapur state highway in Maharashtra's Buldhana, police said here on Monday.

The incident occurred around 5.30 a.m. when the truck, laden with a consignment of apples, apparently shot off the highway and sped onto the shelters of the 10 workers engaged in some local road repair works, said Malkapur SDPO Devram Gawli.

The driver fled from the spot, said police.

“The victims were very much off the main road and the truck seemed to have veered off course, leading to the tragedy. Preliminary probe suggests the driver may have dozed off at the wheel. He abandoned the truck and is currently absconding and we have launched a hunt for him,” SDPO Gawli told IANS.

As per the latest count, five workers were killed on the spot and five others injured badly, including two who arecritical, and they were rushed to the nearby Chopde Hospital.

Some of the dead victims have been identified as: Abhishek R. Jambhekar, 18, Prakash B. Jambhekar, 26, and Pankaj T. Jambhekar, 25, and further investigations are underway, added SDPO Gawli.