Kollam(Kerala) | A 46-year-old man, a Sabarimala pilgrim, died when a minibus carrying Ayyappa devotees from Tamil Nadu collided with a goods truck near Aryankavu check post here in the small hours of Wednesday, police said.

An officer of Thenmala police station said 19 others were injured in the accident which occurred around 4.30 am.

The minibus was returning to Tamil Nadu from Sabarimala with around 24 pilgrims when it collided head-on with the goods truck, also from the neighbouring state, he said.

Of the injured, 17 are undergoing treatment at a Taluk hospital at Punalur while two others have been referred to the Thiruvananthapuram government medical college, the officer said.

The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, he added.