Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 15 (IANS): At least 12 persons were killed and another 23 hurt when a speeding truck rammed into a stationery truck near Vaijapur on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, early on Sunday, police said.

An official said that the incident occurred around 1.15 a.m. when the passenger bus was proceeding from Buldhana to Nashik via Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) after a pilgrimage.

"The bus was coming from Buldhana to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and had halted for some time on the side of the highway, and suddenly the truck rammed it from behind. At least 12 passengers have perished in the crash and 23 more injured," the official added.

The victims were en route to their homes in Nashik after performing a pilgrimage at the famed Sailani Baba Dargah in Buldhana.

The injured have been rushed to hospitals in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, some to Nashik and a few critical cases to Pune, the official said.

Among the fatal victims are two minor children and there are eight women among the injured in the crash that took place a short distance away from the Jambargaon toll booth on the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway which lived up to its notorious reputation.