Three persons were killed on the spot while 13 grievously injured when their Mumbai-bound tempo Trax rammed into a truck heading in the same direction at Ghagargaib village, about 115 kms from Pune, around 3.15 am.

The mishap was caused due to an attempt by the Trax driver to overtake a truck dangerously, said Assistant Police Inspector Gopal Thube from Indapur Police Station.

In a bid to avoid a head-on collision with a vehicle heading towards Solapur, the Trax driver swung his vehicle on the left side of the road and rammed into the rear of the road. Both the vehicles were badly mangled due to the impact of the dash.

The identities of two of the three Trax passengers, who were killed on the spot, have been ascertained as Govind Mahadeo Ghodke (16) and Kashinath Ramchandra Panchal (40). The identity of the third deceased, a 25-year-old man, could not be ascertained till late in the night.

Among the injured are the tempo Trax driver Munnamiya Nadaf (26) of Hosga village in Karnataka, Shantabai Suryavanshi (35), her husband Baburao (40), daughter Vanita (17), Shaikh Jamasahab, Iqbal Patham (20), Vaijanath Mane (27), Reddy Bhimshah (28), Tukaram Reddy (22), Pintu Swamy (16), Mainubi Jamasahab (30) and Sunita Pawade (30). All the injured have been admitted to the civil hospital at Indapur. They are stated to be out of danger.

The deceased and the injured hail from Basakalyan taluka of Karnataka who have migrated to Mumbai in search of job. They were returning to their workplaces after visiting their native places when the mishap took place, API Thube said.

Within 15 minutes of the accident, a separate mishap involving two trucks claimed the lives of two persons at Pondavadi village - about 105 kms from Pune on the same highway.

The identities of the deceased were ascertained as truck driver Jagrup Singh Suvarna Singh (45) from Mumbai and Geeta Vilas Jadhav (21) from Narayangaon village in Junnar taluka.