A woman `warkari` (devotee) of Lord Vitthal was killed and 10 other pilgrims were injured after a container truck ploughed into their group near Kamshet on the old Mumbai-Pune Highway in Maharashtra on Tuesday morning, police said, reported the PTI.
The accident took place around 6.30 am, an official said.
The group of pilgrims had set out on foot from Uran in Raigad district in Maharashtra to the temple town of Alandi in Pune district, a distance of more than 130 kms.
Some of the pilgrims were travelling in an autorickshaw alongside as part of the group, he said.
“When their `dindi` (group of pilgrims) was proceeding to Alandi, a speeding container coming from the Pune side hit the warkaris and the autorickshaw. Apparently, the driver of the container lost control due to a slope in the `ghat` (mountain pass) section,” the official of Kamshet police station said, according to the PTI.
The driver fled from the spot after the accident, he said.
The deceased woman was identified as Priyanka Tandel (55), the official said, adding that the 10 injured pilgrims were rushed to a hospital.
After the accident, some people, including the other pilgrims, blocked the road to seek the arrest of the driver.
“We have impounded the truck and further probe is on,” the police official said, the news agency reported.
Meanwhile, in an another incident, a 55-year-old man died on Tuesday morning after being hit by a private bus while crossing a road here, police said, according to the PTI.
The accident occurred when the man, Sharda Prasad, from Dhanni village in the Sandipan Ghat area, was crossing the road to relieve himself.
The private bus en route to Kanpur from Prayagraj rammed into him, the police said, as per the PTI.
According to police, the impact of the accident was so severe that he died on the spot. His body has been sent for post post-mortem, a police officer said.
After the accident, angry villagers vandalised the bus and blocked the Prayagraj-Kanpur national highway, the officer said, adding that the road was later cordoned off.
The bus has been taken into custody, and efforts are on to trace the accused driver, the Circle Officer Chail Abhishek Singh said, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)