Gaya, July 29: Ten people, including five women, were crushed to death when the bus in which they were travelling, was hit by a truck from the rear, causing the vehicle to run over some passengers taking rest under it.

The incident occurred around 2am on Tuesday near Mufassil police station in Aurangabad district, around 130km southwest of Patna and nearly 90km west of Gaya district headquarters. The passengers, all kanwariyas (Shiv devotees), were asleep at the time of the accident.

Aurangabad civil surgeon Parshuram Bharti said a post-mortem of the deceased was conducted at the sadar hospital. The bodies were handed over to relatives of the deceased. Eight among the seriously injured were referred to Gaya of which one Deepak Kumar succumbed to injuries on way to hospital. Those who died in Aurangabad include Dashrath Bari, Kalawati Devi, Shyambihari Prajapati, Ranju Devi, Sanju Devi, Narsingh Chandravanshi, Mantu Paswan, Manju Devi, Mirja Devi and Deepak Kumar — all from Rohtas district.

While nine died either on the spot or on way to Aurangabad sadar hospital, one succumbed to injuries on way to Anugrah Narayan Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH).

All the deceased were devotees from Rohtas district. At least 30 other devotees were also injured in the mishap. Among them, eight were referred to ANMCH but one succumbed to injuries on way to hospital. Of seven undergoing treatment at ANMCH, one was referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) after 3pm on Tuesday.

Aurangabad superintendent of police Upendra Kumar Sharma confirmed the deaths. He said the devotees had got their bus parked along the Grand Trunk Road and were sleeping either under it or by the side of the vehicle. They were run over by their own bus that started moving after being hit by a truck from behind. A case would be lodged in with Mufassil police station and police would conduct an inquiry, he said.

According to sources, a group of around 150 kanwariyas was returning by bus from Deoghar. At night, they got their bus parked along the Grand Trunk Road adjacent to the Mufassil police station to take rest. While some devotees slept under the bus, others were taking rest in front and by the side of the vehicle. Around 2am, a truck dashed against the bus from the rear.