Bhubaneswar: Five people were killed and four injured after an autorickshaw had a head-on collision with a truck on Jagannath Sarak in Puri district in the early hours of Monday.

The victims on their way to Kanas after attending a funeral at Swargadwar.

Police said the victims had come for the cremation of a woman.

"They were returning to their village when the accident took place. The impact was so severe that the autorickshaw was dragged to a distance and hit a tree," said inspector in charge of Satyabadi police station Krushna Chandra Sethi.

The deceased have been identified as Tapu Biswal, 35, the driver of the autoricksahw, Umakanta Baliarsingh, 57, Bidyadhar Baral, 52, Sunil Samantaray, 50, and Kumar Biswal, 57. Police said that two of them died on the spot while the other three succumbed to injuries in Puri district headquarters hospital. The injured were rushed to SCB hospital in Cuttack. The condition of one of the injured was stated to be critical.

The police said the rescue operation was delayed for nearly 45 minutes because the incident occurred in a lonely stretch and it was dark. A villager who was passing by on a motorcycle spotted the autorickshaw and informed the police. "The driver of the truck escaped from the spot. We are trying to nab him," said Sethi.

Hundreds of local residents blocked the road later demanding adequate compensation and shifting of a liquor shop in the area.

"A number of people consume liquor in the shop for which a number of accidents are taking place. The liquor shop must be relocated," said a local resident.