Panji, Oct 21 (TNN): Two cousins from Charkop in Kandivli were killed and four injured after a truck collided head-on with the SUV they were travelling in on the Mumbai-Goa highway near the Karnala bird sanctuary around 1.30am on Sunday.

Eight members of a family had hired the SUV and gone to Khed to attend a relative's funeral on Saturday. Early on Sunday, they were returning to Mumbai and had reached near the sanctuary when the truck, speeding towards Goa, collided with the vehicle. The truck first grazed the front door by the driver's seat and then dashed into the rear right side of the vehicle. Ravindra Upale (43), who was at the right window of the rear section, and his cousin Surekha Pimpale (38), also seated at the vehicle's right window in the middle seat, were killed. Driver Krushna Patil (35), Sadashiv Upale, Vijay Upale and Harish Upale, were injured but civil contractor Vishwas Upale (43) and Bhikaji Upale, had a miraculous escape.

The truck driver abandoned his vehicle and fled. The New Panvel police have booked the driver and seized the truck.

"The stretch near the Karnala sanctuary is prone to accidents," senior inspector S Bajare said. "We have requested public works department officials to provide speed-breakers on the stretch but to no avail."