Chandigarh

Four pilgrims from Rajasthan, including two married couples, were killed and eight others injured after their tempo-traveller crashed into a stationary truck on the Bathinda-Dabwali highway in Punjab's Bathinda district on Wednesday morning, police said.

The accident took place near Jodhpur Romana village when the group of devotees from Balotra in Rajasthan's Barmer district was travelling to the Amarnath cave shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district to participate in the annual pilgrimage, which begins on July 3.

Police identified the deceased as Mahinder Kumar and his wife Manisha, and Pankaj and his wife Dimple.

The injured were immediately taken to AIIMS Bathinda for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were shifted to the civil hospital mortuary in Bathinda.

Deputy Superintendent of Police H.S. Sra said all the injured were reported to be out of danger.

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The impact of the collision left the tempo-traveller extensively damaged.