PUNE: Nine students returning from a picnic died on the spot after the SUV they were travelling in jumped the divider and collided head-on with a truck near Loni Kalbhor on the Pune-Solapur highway.

The incident took place around 1 am opposite the Gram Panchayat office in Kadam Wakvasti, about 16 km from Pune, in Haveli taluka.

According to Pune rural police, the college students, all residents of Yavat, had gone to Raigad for sightseeing. The incident took place when they were returning home. The driver lost control over the wheels, and the SUV jumped the divider before colliding with a truck coming from opposite direction. The SUV was badly damaged in the accident. After getting information, local residents and police officials rushed to the spot and removed seven bodies. The fire brigade was called to cut the vehicle and remove two other bodies. All the bodies were brought to Sassoon Hospital for postmortem.

Meanwhile, a complete shutdown is being observed in Yavat.

The deceased persons have been identified as Akshay Bharat Waikar, Vishal Subhash Yadav, Nikhil Chandrakant Wabale, Sonu alias Noor Mahmud Abbas Daaya, Parvez Ashpak Attar, Shubham Ramdas Bhise, Akshay Chandrakant Ghige, Datta Ganesh Yadav, and Zubar Aziz Mulani. The deceased persons are residents of Yavat in Daund taluka.