Udaipur, Sept. 7 (PTI): At least 72 pilgrims were killed when a truck fell into a gorge in Rajasthan this evening.

Over 130 were injured in the incident in Rajsamund district, about 150km from here, senior police officials said.

The driver lost control while negotiating a sharp bend and the truck smashed through a protective wall and fell into the gorge near Desuri ki Naal village, district superintendent of police Rupinder Singh said.

The pilgrims were on their way to the shrine of Sufi saint Ramdevra, revered by Hindus and Muslims, in Jaisalmer district.

Seventy-two bodies have been brought out, said the inspector-general of police, Udaipur range, Rajeev Dasot.

The accident occurred around 8 pm on a road full of sharp curves.

Cranes and searchlights were being used to rescue the injured and bring out bodies, the superintendent said.

Medical teams are attending to the wounded, Dasot added.

Identification of some of the dead had become extremely difficult because their bodies were dismembered and only limbs could be recovered.

The truck was carrying around 200 pilgrims, the police said.

The Rajasthan government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each to the next of the kin of the dead, an official spokesman said in Jaipur.