Patna, Feb 26 (IANS): Nine persons were killed in a major road accident in Bihar's Kaimur district on Sunday evening, police said.

The accident took place at Devkali village under Mohania police station located on National Highway 19 around 7.30 p.m., leaving eight persons on an SUV and a bike rider dead.

According to police, the SUV, plying on the Sasaram to Varanasi route on the national highway 19 at a very high speed, rammed into a bike first, crashed into the road divider, was tossed into air, and fell onto the opposite side of the road where it collided with a truck head-on.

The impact of the accident was such that the SUV was completely mangled and all eight occupants aboard died on the spot. The bike rider was also killed.

“Nine persons died in this accident. Eight of them were on the SUV. Their identities are not ascertained yet. They are supposed to be members of an orchestra company. We are making efforts to identify them. The SUV was driving at a very high speed. It rammed a biker first and then ended up crashing the truck coming from the opposite direction on the other side of the road," said Dilip Kumar, SDPO of Mohania sub division of Kaimur.

“As soon as we learnt of the accident, our team, along with employees of the National Highways Authority of India, reached the spot and carried out the rescue operation. The dead bodies were recovered and taken to the mortuary. Further investigation is underway," he said.