Udaipur: Nine people, including seven Pilgrims from various cities of Gujarat, were killed in a road accident near Nehla village at Balicha Bypass on Ahmedabad-Udaipur National Highway 8 on Saturday morning.

The accident took place when the driver applied the brakes suddenly in order to save a two-wheeler, which had appeared on its path without warning. Unfortunately, a speeding trailer that was coming behind collided with the bus, resulting in major casualties. Most of the passengers were fast asleep inside the bus. They were rescued after breaking the glasses and window panes.

Some 20 persons, most of them women, were seriously hurt and rushed to the civil hospital. Mayor Chandra Singh Kothari, social activists and leaders visited the victims to took stock of the situation.

According to police, the bus was going to Haridwar and was carrying around 40 pilgrims from different cities of Gujarat. Most of them were elderly women. “We were on a 12-day tour of Uttarakhand and surrounding places of religious importance. There were people from Junagarh, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, etc.,” one of the victims said.

Besides Gujarati pilgrims, two others who died in the collision are Prakash Chandra Sharma, a research analyst in Udaipur who was going to his office on a scooter, and Pankaj Yadav, a resident of Pune whose bike got caught in the collision.

The bodies had to be pulled out with the help of a crane, sources said. Authorities are busy identifying the victims and informing their relatives back home.

A complaint has been registered against the trailer driver under relevant sections of the IPC and a man hunt has been launched against him, said Brijesh Soni, additional SP, police headquarters.