Jalna (Maharashtra), Sep 20 (IANS): At least eight persons were killed and more than 16 others injured when a passenger bus and a fruit-laden truck rammed into each other on the Beed-Jalna Road, here on Friday, an official said

According to Ambad Police Station in-charge Police Inspector Satish S. Jadhav, the crash occurred at 8 a.m. near Mathtanda village when the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus was speeding from Beed to Jalna.

Eyewitnesses and survivors told the police that both the bus and an Eicher goods truck were thrown several metres away and the two vehicles were virtually crushed due to the impact of the crash.

“At least eight persons have perished in the crash, including the drivers of the bus and the truck. Around 16 persons were injured, some seriously injured have been rushed to different hospitals,” Jadhav told IANS from the crash site.

The accident site resembled a mini warzone with the bus passengers’ blood-splattered belongings, luggage flung all around and the truck’s consignment of lemons crushed or rolling in hundreds off the road.

Soon after the locals heard and saw the crash, many rushed to rescue and informed the Ambad Police and Bondi Police which dispatched teams there.

Jadhav said that a majority of the victims were from Devrai in Beed district and going to Jalna when the tragedy struck, and the exact causes of the crash were being probed.

The injured, including eight serious, have been rushed to the Sub-district Hospital in Ambad and some to the Ghati Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and other Jalna hospitals.

As the crash resulted in a massive traffic snarl in the morning peak hours, the police cleared both the damaged vehicles off the Jalna-Beed Road, and after completing the relevant formalities, threw the road open for vehicular movement.