Raigad (Maharashtra), Jul 16 (IANS): At least five pilgrims were killed and 35 others were injured when a private bus proceeding from Dombivli to Pandharpur for the Ashadhi Ekadashi celebrations crashed into a tractor, early on Tuesday, police said.

The accident occurred on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway near Lonavala as the bus with 54 pilgrims was speeding towards Pandharpur.

Around 1 a.m., it crashed into a tractor, and plunged into a ditch around 35-40 feet below, Deputy Commissioner of Police Vivek Pansare told mediapersons.

Five of the pilgrims lost their lives and 35 others were hurt including some seriously, and they have been rushed to hospitals in Panvel and Lonavala.

Some of the persons identified are -- a woman Hosabai Patil, Ramdas N. Mukadam and Gurunath Patil, while two other deceased have yet to be identified.

On learning of the crash, highway police and local police teams rushed to the crash site, the damaged bus was hauled up by a crane from the ditch and the injured trapped in it were shifted to hospitals.

It's not clear how the slow-moving vehicle like a tractor, banned on such highways, was plying on the busy Mumbai-Pune Expressway.