Akola (Maharashtra), May 3 (IANS): Six persons, including the kin of a Maharashtra lawmaker, were killed in a head-on collision of two private cars on the busy Akola-Washim highway near Patur in Maharashtra's Akola district on Friday, police said.

According to Patur police station head Kishore Shelke, the crash took place around 2 p.m. when the two speeding cars banged into each other.

"Three persons in each vehicle died in the major accident. The cause of the collision is not yet clear and we are investigating," Shelke told IANS from the spot.

At least three other passengers from both cars were injured, including one who is critical, and they have been admitted to nearby hospitals, he said.

Among the deceased is Raghuvir Sarnaik, the brother of Amravati Teachers’ Constituency Member of Legislative Council Kiran R. Sarnaik, and further details, including the identities of the other victims, are awaited.

Locals said that the accident led to a huge traffic snarl in both directions, which was later cleared by the police and normal vehicular movement resumed after almost an hour.