Pune, Dec 1 (IANS): At least three persons were killed and five others injured, when their SUV hit a moving truck on the Pune-Nashik Highway which was shrouded by a thick fog this morning, police said here on Friday.

According to an official of Manchar Police Station, the accident occurred around 5.45 a.m. when the SUV, a Cruiser jeep, was speeding from Nashik towards Pune's Bhosari.

Just before dawn, the SUV, while negotiating the road covered under thick early winter fog, apparently failed to notice the truck ahead.

The SUV rammed into the truck with full force, it was thrown beside the road and its front half got badly crushed by the impact that killed three of the eight occupants.

The deceased are identified as Madhukar T. Ahire, 52, Shantaram S. Ahire, 50, Pankaj K. Jagtap, 36, all residents of Jaikheda in Satara district.

The remaining five casualties, comprising two critical and three with minor injuries, have been rushed to the Manchar Sub-District Hospital and later two were shifted to a private hospital, said the official.

As per preliminary estimates, the three deceased victims were caught in the SUV's crumpled metal sheets and reportedly perished on the spot.

The tentative cause of the crash is attributed to the thick smog in the area and the SUV driver may have failed to notice the truck moving ahead, leading to collision, but further investigation is underway.

A team of the Manchar Police rushed to the spot, moved the debris of the SUV and cleared the traffic snarls on both sides of the busy highway by 8 a.m.