Twenty-one people were killed and over 35 passengers were injured when a speeding bus collided head-on with a truck in Dhanari area on the Aligarh-Moradabad highway in Badaun district on Wednesday.

Police sources in Badaun said the accident occurred near the Tata Chemical factory at Majhola village when two trucks were trying to overtake each other. The UP roadways bus was overcrowded as many passengers were going to Rajghat on the occasion of Amavasya.

Altogether 19 passengers died on the spot while two succumbed to their injuries on the way to hospital. The deceased included six women and five children.

Senior officials have rushed to the spot while the injured have been admitted to hospitals at Badaun, Aligarh and Etah.

Due to the accident, the highway was blocked for more than three hours.

All the deceased and injured were the passengers of the bus. The driver and cleaner of the truck, however, managed to escape after the accident.