Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Feb 22 (IANS): Five persons travelling in a car were killed in a head-on collision with a private travel bus near Devgad, early on Monday morning, police officials said.

According to an official of Nevasa police station, the accident occurred around 2 a.m. on the Ahmednagar-Aurangabad Highway.

"When the car was approaching the Devgad Phata, it was hit by a private tourist bus coming from the opposite direction. All the five occupants of the car were severely injured and are believed to have succumbed on the spot," the official told IANS.

The local villagers managed to rush the victims to a rural hospital near Nevasa, where they were pronounced dead on admission.

As per initial reports, all were hailing from Jalna and were proceeding to Ahmednagar when the tragedy struck, he added.

Efforts are on to verify their identity and determine the cause of the accident.

The car sustained huge damage with the front portion crushed like an egg-shell though there were no casualties among the bus passengers, he added.

The police called for a crane to clear the road strewn with the car wreckage and the busy highway was cleared for normal traffic by dawn.