Nine students were killed after the car they were travelling in collided with a truck on the Pune-Solapur Highway in Pune district of Maharashtra in the early hours of Saturday, PTI reported. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident took place because of overspeeding, said the police.

“The deceased, who were in the age group of 19 to 23 years, were residents of Yavat in Pune district and returning to their hometown from Raigad,” Senior Inspector at Loni Kalbhor police station Suraj Bandgar told PTI. “The car was being driven at a high speed. After reaching Kadamwak Wasti, the driver lost control over the car and the vehicle first hit a divider and then collided with the truck after landing on the other side of the highway.”

The accident took place around 1.30 am. Eight of the nine passengers in the car died at the spot. “Local residents and police saw that one of the occupants was making some movement and he was immediately taken to a nearby hospital,” said Bandgar. “However, he was declared brought dead.”