Patna, Nov 3 : At least three people were killed and three others sustained serious injuries in a road accident in Bihar's Vaishali district on Monday morning.

The fatal accident occurred near Naiper village under the Industrial Police Station area of the district around 4 a.m.

According to the SHO of Industrial Police Station, a speeding luxury car, travelling from Purnea to Hajipur, rammed into the rear of a 16-wheeler truck that was parked on the road. The impact was so severe that the car was reduced to mangled metal.

All the deceased and injured were associated with an exit-poll team working during the Bihar Assembly elections.

Local residents reached the spot soon after hearing the sound of the collision and alerted the police.

Personnel from the Industrial Police Station used a crane to remove the bodies trapped inside the vehicle.

The bodies were sent to Sadar Hospital, Hajipur, for post-mortem examination, while the injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Industrial Police Station SHO Arvind Paswan said preliminary investigation suggested speeding led to the accident.

'As the place of the accident is an industrial area, a large number of trucks are parked on the roadside in a queue waiting for their turn to load materials. The speeding car rammed the truck from behind. The injured are in critical condition,' he said, adding that a formal probe has been launched.

The injured have been identified as Pushpa Chaudhary (28), a native of Milki village, Hajipur, Shalini Verma (26), a native of Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, and Kapil Kumar (24), a resident of Sitapur.

'The victims were coming from the Purnea side. We suspect that the driver of the vehicle may have fallen asleep for a few seconds, leading to this accident,' Paswan said.

'We have identified the victims, and their family members were informed about the accident,' he said.

A tense atmosphere prevailed in the area following the mishap.

/IANS