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HT pictureThe deceased were identified as Vijay Singh, Raj Kumar, Reshma Devi, Kamla Devi, Sudha and Mahesh, police said. The injured victims are undergoing treatment at civil hospital in Palwal.

Inspector Hari Kishan, station house officer (SHO) of Palwal Sadar police station, said the accident took place around 5:30am on Tuesday.

“Soon after the collision, the driver of the illegally parked truck started the vehicle and sped away from the spot leaving behind all the injured victims,” he said.

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Police officials said at least 20 residents of Kishanpur Muraiya, Makoaya, Chanda and neighbouring villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri district had left for a pilgrimage after hiring the van and converting its rear section into two decks for sleeping.

The group had travelled to the Khatu Shyam temple in Sikar and Salasar Balaji temple in Churu, both in Rajasthan on Monday and was travelling to reach Mathura via Palwal to visit Vrindavan when the crash took place.

A senior police officer said that the impact of the collision was so intense that the Bolero was wrecked and several of the pilgrims were trapped inside it.

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“Most of those who died were extricated after 20 to 40 minutes of efforts from the wreck,” he said.

He said that most of the pilgrims were asleep when the crash took place.