Three passengers were killed and six others injured in an accident that occurred near Dheku village on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway on Friday, officials said.
The accident occurred around 4 a.m. when a truck traveling on the highway lost control due to brake failure and hit two cars, a sedan and a Tempo carrying poultry.
The deceased have been identified as Sudama Dhula Gorad and Nirmala Sudama Gorad, both from Satara district, inside the car Maan, the deceased was Sunil Shivaji Tote, a resident of Basav Kalyan in Karnataka.
Ajinkya Sudam Gorad, Vaibhav Sudam Gorad, both from Maan in Satara district; Satish Shivaji Panchal, Japhar Rais, Arif and Afroz (full names unknown) were injured in the accident.
A team of local police and state highway police rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to Panvel MGM Hospital, Komot. The body of the deceased has been sent to the township hospital for further treatment.
Police said vehicle movement had been disrupted for some time. However, by using cranes, police cleared the highway and restored traffic within an hour.
The police are opening a case over the incident.