Botad, Feb 1 : Three people were killed, and four others sustained serious injuries in a road accident involving a truck and a car near Kinara intersection, close to Ranpur town in Gujaratâ??s Botad district, police said on Sunday.

The accident occurred on the Ranpur-Dhandhuka highway when a truck travelling at high speed collided head-on with a car carrying agricultural labourers from Madhya Pradesh.

The impact was so severe that the car was crushed beyond recognition, with its parts strewn across the roadway.

According to preliminary information, the car, bearing registration number MP 09 DK 4398, was travelling from Panala village in Madhya Pradesh to Kundli village in Ranpur taluka. The truck involved in the collision was registered as GJ 03 BV 6005.

Local residents and passers-by rushed to the scene immediately after the crash and began rescue efforts.

Several occupants of the car were trapped inside the mangled vehicle and had to be pulled out by breaking open the metal body.

â??Some victims were lying on the road, while others were stuck inside the car,â?? said a local eyewitness who assisted in the rescue operation.

Police, the mamlatdar and multiple 108 ambulance units reached the site soon after receiving information about the accident.

The injured were initially taken to a nearby hospital and later referred to Bhavnagar for further treatment due to the seriousness of their injuries.

Police said the condition of some of the injured remains critical.

The bodies of the deceased were sent for post-mortem examination, and the process of informing their families has been completed.

Police confirmed that the victims included members of the same labourer family, among them a child.

A Ranpur police officer said a case has been registered and an investigation is underway. â??Preliminary findings indicate excessive speed and negligence as possible causes of the accident.

Further inquiry is being conducted to establish the exact sequence of events,â?? the officer said. The collision led to traffic congestion on the highway for a brief period, which was later cleared by police.

Legal action has been initiated against the truck driver under relevant sections of the law as part of the ongoing investigation.

/IANS